Foxhunt
by MadeInNowhere
Summary: Based on the original story by Jerry The Fox and co-written by him. Marshall the fox is a typical high school kid with all of the problems attached. But when he gets a chance at something better, something worse is right around the corner, and not just for him. Read and review. Please, no flames.
1. Another Day In The Life

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but the story. All rights go to Sega and all associates.**

 **So here is one of my two stories! This thing was requested three years ago, but I had other things going on... then things after that... then more after that... for that, I'm sorry. But here it is! However, this is a lot different to most of the other stories that I write, and it's even different from the original that it's based on by my friend Jerry The Fox. And yes, his OC is the main character in this story. This story which features... well, you'll find out as we go along. I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Marshall the fox sighed as he looked at himself in his school's bathroom mirror. It was early, he was tired, and he'd barely had breakfast, but here he was, waiting in his school's bathroom to avoid the bullies until the next bell rang.

"I thought I'd be safe..." he said to himself. "I mean, my brother is a cop, so you'd think that people would respect that." He looked closer, seeing his left eye still recovering from an encounter a few days prior. "But that doesn't mean a thing, I guess..."

Marshall the fox. 18 years old, brown fur, hazel eyes, tall for a Mobian, Mexican ancestry, and at the moment, wearing a black baseball jersey style shirt with blue jeans and brown combat boots. He sighed again, reaching for a pocket in his jeans and seeing a small bag of weed there.

"I can't risk smoking this here... I almost got suspended last time. Thank god Tails got involved. His police presence works on teachers, but not bullies..."

He looked at himself in the mirror again before pulling out his phone, searching through his contacts to see that he got a message from Cream. Cream was Tails' girlfriend and was like a sister to Marshall in many ways.

"Are you coming home after school?" Cream's text read.

"I have my interview afterwards," Marshall text back. "Then I have my therapy to go to after that. I won't be back home until late."

Almost immediately after, he got a message back. "So, what do you want for food?"

Marshall chuckled. "I'll just have something to snack on, I think." As he hit send, the bell went off, and he turned back to his phone. "Got to go. Next class is starting."

"Bye. Love you!"

The fox gave another smile at that, and quickly washed his face in the sink before leaving the bathroom proper. He was thankful that the lockers were close to the bathrooms for both genders, and quickly went to his own to stash his weed and phone into his bag, only taking out a history book and a pencil case for his next, and last, lesson.

As he turned away from the locker, he was met with a muscular forearm to his throat, pushing him back against the locker as a gruff voice spoke. "Well, if it isn't the fox faggot himself."

Marshall groaned, straining a bit. "Get off of me, Hyder."

The jackal grinned in reply, dressed in typical jock attire with some friends of his. "Or what? Is the widdle pussy fox going to kick my ass? Or would you rather do something else to it?"

"First off, I'm not even gay, I'm bi," Marshall replied. "Secondly, you're not my type."

Hyder pressed his forearm harder against the fox's throat. "You're lucky that you have a class to go to."

"That's never stopped you before," Marshall said. "What? You afraid that you might actually learn something for a change?"

Hyder grunted and growled in Marshall's face before letting him go. "Get the fuck out of here."

Marshall rubbed his throat, turning and walking away and slinging his back over his shoulder. "If only I could discover my power... those guys would be dead meat..." he muttered, thankful that he was out of earshot.

He continued the rest of his way to his history class, entering as the teacher, Shadow, stopped his lesson. "Marshall."

"Sorry I'm late," the fox said, sitting down and letting his shoulders sag. "We're still on WWII, right?"

"We are," Shadow replied. "You know, if not for your tardiness, you'd be a perfect student."

Marshall muttered as he turned to the page from last time. "And if not for you teachers refusing to do anything about bullies, I wouldn't be so tardy..."

"What was that?" Shadow asked.

"Just apologising again, sir."

The black and red hedgehog eyed Marshall coldly as Vector, sat next to the fox, chuckled. "Smooth move."

"One more outburst," Shadow said, not looking back at the students, "and the person who speaks will get detention."

Marshall simply gave another sigh, and after a few moments of silence, Shadow went on with the lesson. In his mind, Marshall saw it as pointless that he was even here since the only reason that he was going to his interview was for an engineering college. He was smart at most things, but he was a whizz at electronics, and that got him noticed, along with some others. But he knew that he had to take this lesson to keep his grades up, otherwise he'd risk losing his opportunity.

Before he knew it, the lesson was over, and Marshall packed up his things as the last bell of the day rang, happy to be over with the school day. As he went to leave the door, Shadow's voice spoke. "Marshall."

The brown fox turned around. "Yes?"

"I heard what you said," Shadow said. "Or rather, muttered. The truth is, that's out of our hands. We can't get directly involved."

"Can't or won't?" Marshall's eyebrows raised, and he pointed to his left eye before pointing to his throat, showing the small mark starting to form. "If you don't get directly involved, this will get a lot worse. And it's not just me that gets this treatment."

"Well, maybe try standing up for yourself more," Shadow said. "Or is that how you get into these predicaments in the first place?"

"There's nothing wrong with helping people," Marshall defended.

"There is if you wind up getting hurt." Shadow paused. "I like you, Marshall. You know that. You're a bright kid, you're kind, you're caring. But you need to stop getting involved in this stuff, no matter who Tails is to you. He can't protect you forever."

"Well then, it's a good thing that I take kickboxing classes," Marshall said drily. "I need to go for my interview."

"I won't keep you," Shadow nodded in understanding.

Marshall stayed silent in reply as he left the classroom. He yawned again, still being tired, but he knew that he had to put a lid on it for his interview. He walked across the school, seeing others leaving and seeing Hyder flip a middle finger at Marshall before he and his cronies left. The fox shook his head and soon reached the head office.

"Ah, Marshall!" said Sally. "You must be here for the interview, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am," Marshall said politely.

The squirrel pointed to her right. "He's right through there. Knock 'em dead."

"I hope it doesn't have to come to that," Marshall smirked, heading to the door in question.

It was slightly cracked open as someone on the opposite side was finishing talking to the interviewer, sounding happy that she'd done well and thanking him. She left the room and bumped into Marshall, looking up at his hazel eyes.

"S-Sorry!" she said.

"Mina?" Marshall replied. "I didn't know you were applying too."

"Yeah, trying for a botany class," Cosmo smiled. "It went really well."

"You've been acing your tests lately, right?" Marshall said. "I'm impressed."

"Well, I have a good study buddy," Cosmo shrugged, hugging the tall fox, who hugged back. "Thank you..."

"No problem."

The door next to them opened, and the interviewer smiled at the two. "Marshall, is it? You're up next."

Marshall turned to Cosmo. "Got to go."

"Good luck!" Cosmo said, her parting words before taking her leave.

"Sorry about that, Mr... Mighty?" Marshall guessed.

"Yep!" Mighty replied, taking his seat. "Please, grab a seat."

Marshall sat on the opposite side. "So, how'd it go?"

"Well, we've given your letter some thought," Mighty started, offering Marshall a drink of water. "And... well, besides some grades and some dealings with other students... we want you in."

"Really?"

"Yes," Mighty nodded. "All we need from you is an interview with your parents or guardians on the weekend to sort some things out with them."

"This... this is incredible!" Marshall smiled widely. "You won't regret this!"

"I hope not," Mighty said. "But I will ask, what's with that small mark on your neck there?"

Marshall subconsciously rubbed his throat. "Just... got caught on my way to history class by some jerks who I've been dealing with." He pointed to his left eye. "That's my present from last week."

"How'd that one happen?"

"I fell. Well, technically, they tripped me over during gym class, but I fell."

Mighty sighed. "You should tell more people."

"I do tell people," said Marshall. "They don't listen."

"Well... not to fret," Mighty said. "Our college has a very low bullying rate."

"And a low chance of people like me getting in rate," Marshall sighed. "You usually accept people with abilities. I... I don't know what mine is yet."

"Well, you might be able to find out in due time," Mighty said.

"You can't just give me that chance," Marshall said. "I haven't earned that."

"You don't need your powers to have earned this chance," said Mighty. "You got here through hard work and studying and perseverance. I'd hate to think that I came all the way down here and wasted my time."

"N-No, you didn't," Marshall stammered. "I... just want to prove myself."

"You want to prove yourself? Turn up again on Friday with your parents or legal guardians," Mighty smiled. "And make sure you're on time. That's all that I ask."

Marshall sat back in his seat, letting his body sag for a moment before nodding. "All right... all right. I'll come back here on Friday. With my guardians."

Mighty smiled. "Good." He extended a hand forward, and the brown fox opposite him accepted the handshake. "Good luck out there."

Marshall smiled, nodding and standing up. "Thank you, sir. This... it really means a lot to me."

"Well, like I said, you've earned it," Mighty smiled.

Marshall smiled widely before nodding once more. "I... um... thank you. I'll... I'll see you on Friday."

"I sure hope so," Mighty said.

The tall fox chuckled and left the room, minding his way as another person went in for their interview. He shared a fist bump with Sally, who returned it with a smile of her own, looking up at the fox.

"You got it?" she asked.

"I got it," he nodded.

Sally smiled. "Well, good luck on Friday."

"I'll need it," Marshall smiled, checking his phone for the time. "I got to go. I have my appointment soon."

"Take care!" Sally called as Marshall left.

"Thanks!" he called back in reply.

Later, Marshall was waiting at the bus stop to take him to the northern part of the city. Mobius City itself was a huge place, with different segments, neighbourhoods, and feelings all around, but without any segregation. Humans and Mobians lived in harmony for the most part.

Soon, he reached his destination, hopping off the bus and thanking the driver whilst also thanking himself for having gotten a day saver so that the trip back home would be free. He looked back over the highway as the bus left down it before turning and making his way to his appointment.

He listened to music to help pass the time, reminding himself to charge his phone when he got back home. He arrived at the bus stop nearest to his therapist, left the bus with a thank you, then made his way to the office.

Marshall had been going there for a few years now, and every Wednesday after school, he's never missed a session. He entered the building proper, the secretary smiling at him and telling him that the doctor was ready, which Marshall returned with a word of thanks and a nod, heading to the office in question and knocking the door.

"Come in!" said the man on the other side.

Marshall sighed and past the door, smiling. "Good to see you again, Espio."

"We only saw each other last week," Espio smiled. "So, sit down and tell me about your day. Or your week, as it were."

"Not a lot to tell," Marshall shrugged as he sat.

"Well, let's go through what happened after your last visit."

Marshall nodded, sighing before clearing his throat and recounting the events of the previous week, focusing on the important things, like his black eye, getting a new video-game, Tails' birthday. For each topic, Espio spoke with Marshall, not patronising him and wanting the fox to express how he felt with those events as they occurred.

Soon, Marshall had reached today. "So, I was in the bathroom before my last class, which was history. I told my guardians that I would be late because of my job interview and then my session with you." He breathed and sighed. "Then, on my way to class, I got cornered by Hyder and his gang again..."

"Hyder gave you the black eye," Espio noted. "Did he give you that mark on your throat too?"

Marshall nodded. "Yes. He cornered me, laughed, and called me that word that I hate so much."

"And what did you do?"

"I made a joke about him not being my type," Marshall chuckled. "Then he pressed his arm harder on my throat, and that probably made the mark."

"Does it hurt?"

Marshall shook his head. "Not a lot. If anything, the left eye hurts more still."

"I see," Espio nodded. "Well, how about the job interview? Did it go well?"

"It did," Marshall smiled. "Surprisingly so. I, uh... I didn't really expect that."

"Did you make it in?"

"I did. They want another interview on Friday with me, Tails, and Cream to iron some stuff out," Marshall smiled. "Besides that, I'm good to go."

"Did anything happen?" Espio asked. "Are you nervous?"

Marshall nodded. "Honestly, I am. But I still have my doubts. Usually, Mobians only get into those colleges if they know their powers. I mean, I'm glad that I got in, but it feels like special treatment. I don't want to be the only guy there who doesn't have powers."

"Well, the chances are that they hired you based on your work ethic. Powers might not matter."

"You... you think so?" Marshall sighed. "What if I get thrown to the wolves? Maybe literal wolves?"

"You won't," said Espio. "You just keep working hard, fighting back against the bad, and you'll be fine. My point is, don't be so nervous. You got this chance, so go and prove your worth."

Marshall's shoulders sagged, and he nodded, more in agreement than in defeat. "I will."

Espio smiled. "Anything else?"

Marshall chuckled, and they filled the rest of the day talking about other things, mostly the fox's home life since he went over his school day already. Soon, their time was up, and Espio looked at his watch before it beeped.

"Well, it looks like our time is over for this week," he said.

"Sorry if I bored you with anything," Marshall chuckled.

"It's my job to be bored by you," Espio joked. "I'm kidding. But before you go, how are you coming with your medication?"

"Still struggling with it," Marshall said. "I remembered to take it today, but I was still worried about those bullies."

"And for good reason," Espio nodded. "I understand why, and even for as tall as you are, it may seem like they tower over you. But if I can give you a piece of advice that you haven't heard before, it might just be this: Don't be afraid to bite back. Sometimes, it's worth the risk to take a swing back at those who keep hitting you."

"Are you kidding?" Marshall said. "I'd get kicked out of school. It happened to me before, and I'm very lucky to be where I am now. And, more importantly, I have a job interview on Friday which could change the course of my life."

Espio smiled. "And just like that, you passed the test."

Marshall grinned, but shook his head. "I hate it when you do that."

"I know. But you know that I need to do it."

"Yeah, I get it," Marshall smiled. "Thank you. I'll see you next week."

"You too!" Espio replied.

Marshall checked his watch, surprised at how much time had passed, and he hurried to the bus stop. He waited for a few minutes before the bus back home came, and he hopped on, showing his day saver, to which the driver nodded. Marshall smiled and went to the back of the bus to sit down, thinking about listening to music before he realised that his phone was low on power. He almost put it back in his pocket when it started ringing, and he smiled as he answered it.

"Hey, Cream."

"Hey, Marshall! Just wanted to check that you made it to your session on time," Cream replied.

"I just finished, actually," Marshall replied. "I'm on my way back now."

"Ah, right," Cream giggled. "Oh, how did the interview go?"

"Surprisingly well. I'll tell you more when Tails comes back," Marshall said.

"Oh, I'm so happy!" Cream smiled. "Since you're back soon, and since Tails won't be back until late, maybe you'd like to share this lasagne with me?"

"Yeah," Marshall smiled. "My interview was over quick, and the session was a breeze."

"And Tails could be working overtime," Cream sighed.

"Hey, he's a busy guy," Marshall said. "Police work isn't easy."

"I know..." Cream said. "I just hate eating without him. And he's been trying to get into this new case lately, but he won't tell me anything about it."

Marshall nodded and was about to reply when he saw what appeared to be a body hung between two trees by its arms. There were pegs in the ground that kept their legs spread apart, almost looking like an X. There was some movement, and it looked like the body was lurching forward. Said body was only wearing a pair of jeans, and blood appeared to be seeping from its back.

"Marshall?" Cream spoke, interrupting the tall fox. "Are you okay?"

Marshall shook his head, looking again only to see the two trees and nothing else. He cleared his throat. "Yeah. Sorry. Some car just whizzed past and honked its horn at us. He sounded kind of angry. Anyway, I'll be back home soon, okay?"

"Okay. See you when I see you!"

"Love you."

"Love you too!"

They both hung up, and Marshall saw his low battery life, cringing a bit. Soon, he had made it to the closest bus stop home, hopping off and heading for his house. He knocked on the door, and Cream opened it, smiling.

"Oh, there he is!" the rabbit said, giving the fox a hug, which was returned. "You made it just in time! The food's almost done!"

"All right, let me go take my shoes off and put my phone on charge, and I'll be right with you," Marshall smiled as the hug broke.

He kicked his shoes off and put them into the shoe box, also taking his hoodie and bag off to take upstairs with him, thankful that he didn't have any homework. He put his phone on a charger and came over to the kitchen to see Cream serving up the lasagne.

"I put some extra Parmesan on it," Cream giggled. "Hope that's okay."

"Yeah, that's fine," Marshall smiled. The food was all served, and he sat down, about to eat when Cream spoke.

"What happened there?" she asked, seeing his neck.

"Oh, just that Hyder jerk again..." Marshall said.

"I told you to avoid him," said Cream. "You didn't fight him, did you?"

"Made a couple of snide comments, but no, no actual fighting," said Marshall. "I tried to avoid him all day, but he caught me outside the bathroom."

"Just because he has his powers, he can't insult or belittle you like that," said Cream. "And besides, he has them, but is he on his way to a fancy college? No. That honour belongs to you."

Marshall blushed. "Cream..." He looked down at his food before looking back up at her. "Thank you. But that does remind me, I still have one last interview for college on Friday. You guys need to come with me just to sort out the smaller details and such."

"No problem," Cream smiled. "Now, let's eat. Whatever's left over, we can save for Tails when he gets home."

"Yeah, good thinking," Marshall chuckled.

The two then ate with little else in the way of conversation, and after they were done, Marshall cleaned the dishes, seeing the pan full of lasagne that was meant to be Tails' portion. After Marshall was finished, he cleaned his hands, got his phone from the charger, and headed upstairs.

"I'll be in my room if you need my help with anything!" he called.

"Okay!" Cream replied.

Marshall entered his room, looking around at the mess that it was and shaking his head. He put his phone on his bed and went over to his laptop, opening a writing program and starting to type.

"Keepsake number 87," it began. "Today was a pretty average day for me until the last few moments of school. It was before my last lesson, and I didn't eat at school because I wanted to avoid bumping into Hyder. I hid in the bathroom, but it was like he was waiting for me when I left. He pressed me up against my locker, calling me that word again that I hate... anyway, he left a mark on my neck."

Marshall took a pause, checking in his drawer for a bottle of water, thankful that there was one there. He took a drink from it and then continued. "Anyway, after that, I had my last class, and then my job interview with Mighty. Surprisingly, even though I don't have my powers yet, I got in. I just need to revisit Mighty at school with my guardians to iron out some small things."

The fox then paused again, debating whether or not to add the most recent thing on this list. He thought over it and shrugged, typing again. "This last part is probably nothing. After my therapy session, which was more the normal stuff combined with Espio knowing more, I was on the bus back home. Cream called me, and as we were talking, I saw... something. It looked like a Mobian hung up between two trees, and he was in some weird X shape. He looked... broken, for lack of a better word. When I snapped out of it, it wasn't there any more. Maybe I'm just seeing things. Maybe the excitement of getting into college is getting to my head. Can't say that I know for sure." He took a breath. "I... I can't wait for the school year to be over. I worked my butt off, studied hard, and now, I have a shot. This is it for me. My name is Marshall, and this is my keepsake."

He finished, saving the file and placing it into folder marked "Keepsakes". He was satisfied, soon switching to his Internet browser and looking for a music playlist, kicking away from his desk on his swivel chair as he looked around at his room.

"Well, I'd best get a start on this," he said to himself.

* * *

 **And here's chapter one! I know that it's not how it seems on the tin so far, especially if you read the original, but trust me, it'll get there. Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this one, and I'll see you all soon for the first chapter of Love And War. Take care, and stay tuned.**


	2. Catching A Case

Marshall sighed to himself as he went about cleaning his room. He was about three quarters done when he noticed some cobwebs near his posters posters, which had bands like Hollywood Undead and Rise Against, and a Fallout poster. He quickly turned the vacuum on, as he'd brought it up earlier, and grabbed the tube of it to clean off any cobwebs.

"Can't believe I got so careless," he said to himself as he finished up. "If I'm going to college, I need to take better care of all of my stuff." He put the tube back in the vacuum's holster and looked over things. "Almost done. I should make a pile of stuff to take with me." He shook his head. "I'm not even there yet, and I'm thinking about this."

"Marshall!" Cream called. "Tails is back!"

"Okay!" Marshall called back. "I'm almost done cleaning my room!"

He looked around and went to his window to sort out the various plushies that he owned. In the centre was a lion plushy which he had named Diez thanks to the x-shaped mark where his left eye once was. Diez was a gift for Marshall when he was six years old, and it was his first and oldest plushy. Cream stitched up and made it herself, and based the design on a teddy bear that she had when she was a kid which had its left eye missing by design.

"Diez... I'll take you anywhere," Marshall smiled, lifting the plushy up from its seat. He planted a kiss on its cheek when he heard footsteps. He quickly put the lion cuddly toy back and went back to look over his room, seeing a dirty pair of socks. He picked them up and threw them into his laundry basket as his door opened.

"Hey, kiddo!" Tails said, looking happy.

"Hey, Tails," Marshall replied. "You look pleased."

"What's not to like about today?" Tails smiled. "I got a big lead on a new case, and Cream just told me about your big news."

"Sorry!" Cream called from downstairs. "I got so excited that I couldn't contain it!"

"So, you know?" Marshall asked. "Well, that the interview was good?"

"I do!" Tails chuckled, hugging his fox stepson. As he pulled back, he saw Marshall's neck. "Been fighting again?"

"N-No... I tried to avoid those bullies, but they got me when I least expected it," Marshall sighed.

Tails nodded. "You know, if you want me to arrest those punks for abuse, I can do it."

"It's fine, dad," Marshall said. "I... I can deal with it."

"Please don't call me dad," Tails insisted. "Hmm... how about putting in extra time at kickboxing?"

"Tails, I dunno if that'll help. Besides, I'm not allowed to fight outside of the martial arts school," Marshall pointed out.

"Then how about some police training? We've got some good fighters there. Maybe we-"

"I don't need it," Marshall said. "Trust me, I'll be fine."

Tails nodded. "Just... I just want you to stay out of trouble. You know that I worry about you."

"I know you do," Marshall nodded. "But I'll be okay. I can take care of myself."

Tails nodded back, leaning close. "Have you been trying to... um... you know?"

Marshall raised an eyebrow, before his eyes widened and he shook his head. "I haven't really had a chance to test it yet."

"Just give it a try," Tails said.

"Right now?" Marshall asked.

"Right now."

Marshall sighed, shaking his head before cracking his neck and breathing out. He tried spinning his large, fluffy tail in a circle, first twirling it around on his own before hoping to let instinct take over. It kept spinning mostly thanks to Marshall's own help, and he jumped for leverage, but nothing worked. He tried jumping again, getting frustrated.

"Nothing's happening," Marshall sighed.

"Don't put too much into it," said Tails. "Just try again and relax this time."

"Easy for you to say," said Marshall. "You have two of the freaking things. Maybe I need to get another one surgically attached or something."

"Marshall, calm down," said Tails.

"Calm down?" Marshall said, his hands on either side of his face. "I don't know if I've got a full on chance for college yet, and even if I did, I still don't know what my power is! How can I calm down with that much pressure on me?!"

The two-tailed fox stepped closer and touched the taller fox's arm reassuringly. "It's good to feel that pressure. I knew my power before I got to college, but I was so scared that I would get judged anyway because of my tails."

"So, what did you do?" Marshall asked.

Tails shrugged. "I bucked up, kept to myself, and worked hard until I got my job."

"But you had your powers," Marshall reminded him. "What... what can I do? You can fly, Cream can fly and make a dang good dinner... but I... I've got nothing."

"Your powers, or lack thereof, don't define who you are," Tails said. "Cream and I love you just the way you are, powers or not."

Marshall smiled. "Thank you."

Tails chuckled and hugged Marshall again. "I often forget how tall you are." The two chuckled as the hug broke. "Come on. Let's go downstairs to that you can tell us the rest of the news."

They went downstairs, seeing Cream watching a soap drama. She paused it as the two boys sat down, with Tails sitting with her on the couch and Marshall on the side seat, telling them about what happened with his interview.

After everything was explained, Tails spoke first. "So, you have an interview on Friday to iron some stuff out?"

"Yep," Marshall said. "All that I have to do is show up with my parents or guardians, and it's up to them to sort the last parts out."

"I wonder what it could be, though," Cream said. "Is it stuff like finances and such? Because we can lend Marshall money, right?"

"It could be, actually," Tails said. "And we could."

"I dunno if I could pay you guys back for how much you've done for me already," Marshall said. "Are you sure that I'm worth a little extra cash?"

"Hey, if it means getting you a spot at that college, we'll do it," Tails said. "I mean, given that you got a spot anyway even without our help, you could still take the money. Maybe get yourself something nice for your new fancy room at university."

"Well, I could do with a new poster," Marshall joked. "But seriously, I'll be fine. I got there using my intelligence, and I'll stick to it. I'll only take your money if I think that it's actually going to help."

Tails reached over and touched Marshall's shoulder. "Good answer," he smirked.

Cream stood up. "I know! I'll make a celebratory dessert for us all!"

"Oh, yeah. You've been focusing on those for your cooking classes lately, right?" Marshall asked. "How's it going?"

"Why don't I answer with the food that I'm about to make?" Cream smiled.

"That seems like a good option," Marshall chuckled. "What have you got in mind?"

"Hmm... apple crumble pie," Tails answered.

"Oh, that does sound good," Marshall said. "You want some help with it?"

"Tails can help me," Cream giggled. "You can take a pew and relax."

Marshall nodded and smiled, but then felt his phone vibrate, thankful that he remembered to charge it whilst he cleaned his room. He picked it up from his pocket, reading a text message from Cosmo which made him smile.

"Hey, college boy. How'd it go?"

"Surprisingly well," Tails said. "I got in."

"That's amazing news!" Cosmo replied. There was a few seconds before it was followed up. "Wait... they do know that you don't know what your powers are, right?"

"Yeah, they know," Marshall typed, sighing in real life. "But they don't care. Apparently, my big brain was enough to get me in there. I'm hoping to start an electrical engineering course.

"Wow. That's a pretty big one to take up!" Cosmo responded. "Still, you're more than smart. You worked so hard to get there."

"I guess so," Marshall replied.

"Oh, don't be so modest," Cosmo typed, adding a winking face. "Me and some friends are gathering together for a chill session, and it would be a nice celebration for you, if you're interested?"

Marshall looked over at his family. "I appreciate the offer, but I've got a dessert with my name on it to eat with my family. Maybe we can move it to tomorrow? If that's okay?"

"Or maybe you can I could celebrate on our own?" Cosmo suggested. "I know a great pizza place near my house. The pepperoni there is insane."

Marshall smiled. "I'll see you there. It's a date."

"I look forward to it," said Cosmo. "Anyway, me and a bunch of friends are going to vegetate together. Hehe... get it?"

Marshall face-palmed at the pun, but couldn't hide his smile. Then he focused on the word "vegetate" and remembered that he had some marijuana hidden in his room. He put his fingers back to the phone."I'll be doing that on my own later. Sorry. Really want to be with my family right now."

"That's understandable," Cosmo replied. "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow night, handsome."

"See you," Marshall replied, adding a few kisses at the end.

"Yo, sport!" Tails said. "Cream found a way for you to help! Get some plates and spoons ready!"

Marshall chuckled, getting up and going over to help however he could. When he did, they all waited patiently for it to be done, and they later had their plates of dessert as they watched TV together, flicking through until they found the news.

"-and as you can see, this victim is only the third of what could be many more bodies that haven't been found. Whoever the 10 Killer is, he or she is a dangerous being."

Tails gulped, and Marshall saw it. "Is that the lead that you had?"

Tails nodded. "It used to be... that victim was the prime suspect of the last murder, as well as the only reliable witness. He was the last one's boyfriend, but he admitted that they'd been fighting up until that point. Still... he doesn't seem like the murdering type."

"And now you'll never find out what happened," Marshall said.

"Well, whoever or whatever this 10 Killer is, they're a sick bastard," Tails growled. He saw Marshall's reaction and apologised. "Sorry for swearing. I know that you don't like that."

"It's fine," Marshall said. "But... why is he called the 10 Killer?"

"His victims have a tendency to turn up dead every ten days," Tails said. "But it's strange... this is his third victim, but from the other two, they were killed weeks, or maybe even months before this. It's weird for them to just turn up when they did."

"He's called the 10 Killer because his victims turn up dead every ten days?" Marshall asked. "That's kinda stupid. If he lets his victims just turn up every ten days, then he shouldn't be called that, should he?"

"Could we not talk about the logic behind stupid serial killer names whilst we're trying to eat?" Tails asked. "More importantly, could we not talk about my job now that this shit has happened?"

"Sorry..." Marshall said.

Cream, noticing the quiet looks on their faces, cleared her throat. "Well... let's put on something else, shall we?"

"Sorry, honey," Tails said.

"Yeah, me too," Marshall added. "It's... it's a happy day. Let's keep it that way."

Cream nodded and giggled. "Good." She picked up the remote and switched the channels, and they binged on some comedy shows as they ate. Soon, they were all done, and Marshall had offered to clean the dishes, to the relief of Cream and Tails.

As soon as he was finished, he noticed that he had some gaming time, so he went back upstairs, switching on his console and putting in a shooter game, playing for about three quarters of an hour before switching off, frustrated at his teammates' incompetence.

"That's why I get for playing with randoms," he said to himself. He got up and went over to his computer desk next. He opened the top drawer to withdraw his weed that he hid, and rolled himself the joint, looking over at his bedroom window. "Hmm... I can get away with smoking up here..."

He shrugged and grabbed the nearest lighter that he had to light his cigarette up, inhaling and exhaling the smoke. "Ah... that's the stuff..." He went for another toke of it, puffing a few times, before putting the cigarette in his ashtray for now, opening up his laptop.

"Got nothing to write, and I'm done with gaming. Hmm..." He typed in "traditional Mobian fox powers" into the search bar, and saw gifs and videos of foxes flying, some of those being Tails when at work. He saw one or two of them puffing out their fur defensively, but it just made them look somehow cuter. Some foxes even extended their claws and fangs to defend themselves, which Marshall decided was less cute.

It didn't stop him from looking at his hand. "Please don't let me be too high to try this..." He stared at his hand, trying to will the claws to come out of it. "Come on... I know I've got something..." He kept focusing, but nothing came of it. "Aw, man... hmm..." He stood up and went to his bedroom mirror, opening his mouth to see his fangs. He shrugged, trying to push the fangs out further, but they stayed the same. He gave another growl and tried once more, but once more, nothing changed.

"Oh, come on!" He spoke loudly, kicking a plushy that he missed from the floor over to his windowsill, knocking only Diez over. "Oh, nuts..." He went over to pick up the one he'd kicked before picking up Diez, looking at his eye and focusing on the X shape. He sighed and went back to his computer.

"I can't believe I'm doing this..." He shook his head. "I'm not high enough. Or am I? I should make sure." He picked up his weed and smoked again, blowing it out. "Okay, now I am." He typed "10 Killer" into the search bar, coming up with pictures of the victims that he'd heard of previously. He looked closely at them to see if there was any discernible thing that connected them.

"Hmm... well, the killer doesn't discriminate," Marshall said to himself. "His first victim was a woman, who was the brother of the second victim, who was in an openly gay relationship with the third victim... is it a family thing?" He scratched his head. "It can't be with the third victim. Maybe if they were married, but they weren't. They were fighting up until then, but now that the second one has turned up dead, we can confirm that he didn't kill the second one..."

He shook his head. "Apparently, I turn into Sherlock Holmes when I'm stoned. Eh... I should leave this to Tails..." But he shook his head again, looking at the victims' bodies. "They were killed not too far apart, and the only one with any real information is the sister... let's see... Carlita... a Mobian cat, green fur, yellow eyes, main cause of death was severe head trauma..."

He kept clicking through the news article and found something on the second victim, refreshing his computer. "Second victim has been identified as Gareth, the younger brother of Carlita. Cause of death... a gunshot wound to the head..." Marshall rested his head in his hands before putting said hands on the back of his head. "I'm never going to get this solved. I really should lay off the weed..." He kicked back, but wound up falling backwards on his chair. "Ouch!"

His yell soon drew heavy footsteps up the stairs, and Marshall found time to get up, looking for some air freshener to hide what he'd been doing. He sprayed a bit of it, waving his hand to help it cancel out the smell of marijuana, stopping to pick up his chair just as Tails walked in.

"Marshall!" Tails said. "What happened?"

"Was just... too lazy in my chair..." Marshall said, hoping that his slow speech would give Tails the impression that he was hurt. Which, in fairness, he was.

"I told you to be more careful," Tails said. He looked behind Marshall and saw some smoke flying up. He walked over and passed by the taller fox before he could be blocked off, reaching to pick up the marijuana. "Maybe in more ways than one."

"Tails... look-"

"Save it," Tails said. "You said you were trying to quit."

"It's been a really stressful day," Marshall defended. "I got accepted into a college that I don't know if they're making the right choice, and you just lost a big lead."

Tails looked at Marshall's laptop. "So, that explains all of that." He looked closer. "Huh... I never got a report of the second victim. Amazing how fast things travel on the Internet."

"I guess so," Marshall agreed.

Tails got a call on his phone, seeing it as the police's number and answering. "Hello? Yeah, I just found out on the net. Why wasn't I told? Why would I be pissed? You gave me the lead on the investigation. Just because my only witness is dead doesn't mean that the trail is completely cold." He paused and sighed. "Yeah... I'll see what I can find out... now? You're lucky that I just had dessert. All right... I'll be there soon." He hung up.

"What was that about?" Marshall asked.

"None of your business," Tails said. "It's police work."

"So, saving my bacon at school is fine, but this isn't?"

"Marshall, there's a serial killer on the loose and bodies are just turning up," Tails said. "If you follow me into this, you might not come back. At least, not the same." He checked his watch. "Crap... I need to move."

Tails rushed downstairs, somewhat thankful that he was still wearing his police uniform, having not had the chance to take it off yet. Marshall followed behind, sitting on the stairs as he saw Tails kiss Cream briefly before leaving. He then saw Cream sigh, deciding to go down and hug her.

"He'll be okay," Marshall said.

Cream nodded, breaking the hug. "I know. I just... I always get worried."

"Did he say why he was going?" Marshall asked.

"No, he just kissed me and left," Cream answered. Before Marshall could turn to leave, Cream grabbed his arm, sniffing. "You... you were smoking again, weren't you..."

Marshall sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I was."

"We-"

"Told me to stop, I know." Marshall sighed. "Look, he'll be fine out there."

"You say that, but... I'm never sure. I always get scared when the station rings and either you or Tails isn't here," Cream said. "I always fear the worst..."

"That's just natural," Marshall said. "Who knows? Maybe Tails has a decent lead on this Ten Killer guy." He gulped. "I... was looking up the victims on my laptop, and Tails caught me."

"Not the worst thing he's caught you doing on a laptop," Cream said with a small giggle.

The tall fox blushed, shaking it off. "What about you?"

"I looked it up on my phone, but found nothing that connected the two victims. Until more info on the third shows up, we won't know."

"Well, we don't have anything on him besides that he knew the others..." Marshall shook his head. "We shouldn't be getting involved. Like, at all."

"No, we shouldn't," Cream nodded. "And besides, we only know as much as Tails does at this point."

Marshall nodded back. "Listen, I... I'm going to go upstairs. Just relax a little bit."

"Are you feeling okay?" Cream asked.

"There's... there's just a lot going on. I'm going to try and get to sleep." Marshall check the time on his phone. "Looks late enough as it is."

"All right, you get your early night. Got a big day of school tomorrow, and then the day after that," Cream smiled. "Oh, I'm still so proud of you!" She rushed to hug him one more time. "Okay... now you can go."

Marshall hugged back before letting go. "Night."

"Goodnight."

The tall fox smiled to himself, feeling a bit better as he went upstairs. He went over to his laptop, seeing the police page still open. He went to shut it down when he saw something on Carlita's screen. He refreshed it to make sure, only to see a new picture of a chalk outline. He rubbed his eyes and checked again to see her body still there.

"Man... my head..." He looked at his forcefully snubbed out weed cigarette. "I really should quit those..." He looked back at the computer screen, seeing a bloodstained leaf next to the victim's head. Curiously, he checked the other window, seeing Gareth with a similar leaf next to his head. The blood looked a bit different, and almost looked like an X pattern.

Immediately, Marshall felt his head start to hurt as he flashed back to earlier that day, seeing what he thought was an illusion of the person strung up in an X shape. He recalled the blood dripping down, and managed to focus his attention on the other leaves, seeing faint spatters of blood around them. He then saw a tree root in the corner, recognising it as the same tree.

"I... I need to find out what's happening..." He shook his head again, looking to see the victim still there, the leaves in the same place, and everything back to normal. "Something happened... I need to find out what." He looked over everything one last time before yawning. "Time for sleep..."

He shut off his laptop then closed it down, taking off his jeans and deciding to sleep in his boxers and shirt. Before actually getting into his bed, however, he reached for Diez, taking the cute little lion to bed with him. With Diez, he quickly fell asleep, trying to push aside the gruesome images of the day.

* * *

 **And that's it for chapter two! I hope that you liked it, especially the family relationship with Cream, Tails, and Marshall being more focused on here. I'm quite enjoying writing this, but goodness knows that it'll get a lot grimmer soon. I'll see you all for the next one. Take care, and stay tuned.**


	3. Blind Faith

Marshall was scribbling notes onto his pad during his last lesson of the day, which was English. It was more of a lecture to learn, but he still needed to excel in the class anyway. It stopped being a grade thing now that he was headed to university. Now, he wanted to prove that he could belong there.

He was snapped out of it when he saw something from the corner of his eye, seeing Hyder outside the door and grinning at the class through the window before bringing up a sign which appeared to have a cartoon fox head with blood dripping from it.

Marshall shook his head, looking at the sign again to see that it had no violent imagery, but instead just said the phrase "go fuck yourself, faggot". The tall fox grunted and focused back on his work, ignoring it and trying to shake his head.

'Man, last night really messed with my head... I shouldn't have looked up those pictures...' He quickly looked at his watch, seeing that there wasn't long left. He finished writing down what notes he could before clicking his pen and putting it in his pocket, silently counting down the last ten seconds in his head before...

"And there's the bell!" said Blaze, the English teacher. "Looks like my lecture's over. Now, remember, next Monday is the field trip! If you didn't give your twenty dollars in now, you don't get in! Remember, we pay for all other accommodations!"

Marshall stopped in his tracks before leaving, turning to face the teacher. "Can I go get my wallet quickly? I left it in my locker."

"Sure."

Marshall smiled, leaving the classroom and heading to his locker. He had to open it anyway to get any stuff he'd left in there, but before he could open it, Hyder was right behind him, slamming the locker that Marshall tried to open.

"What do you want this time?" asked Marshall, turning to face his bully.

"Oh, you know, fame, bitches, a jet-pack, and... money. Twenty dollars for a field trip, to be exact."

Marshall looked at Hyder, looking around. "I don't see the douche crew with you."

Hyder grinned, and soon, several copies of him appeared. "It's okay. I have my own on hand anyway."

"Well, this is all fantastic news, but-"

"Stop with that fucking lip before I rip your tongue out," said Hyder.

Marshall playfully held his nose at the jackal's breath. "At least if you did, you'd be greeted with the pleasant scent of someone who actually brushes his teeth."

"Give me the money. Now."

"Hyder!" said Blaze. "Leave him alone!"

The jackal grunted and grabbed Marshall's shoulders, patting them before giving a shove and walking away, the push lightly slamming Marshall's back to the locker. The fox sighed and went back to getting his money out, thankful that the purple cat walked over to him to take the money directly.

"Thank you," he said. "For the save, I mean."

"It's no problem," said Blaze. "You going to be okay?"

"Yeah," Marshall said, grabbing the last of his stuff and closing his locker. "Just a little bit of back pain. Not the first time he's given me that."

"Look, I can't tell you anything that you haven't already heard, but... well, you're moving up. I heard that you landed your spot at college." Blaze smiled. "That's big news."

"Yeah, and I earned it without knowing what my powers are," Marshall sighed.

"Don't worry about it," said Blaze. "Anyway, since it's Thursday, that means that you have to go to your church, right?"

Marshall chuckled. "Well, considering that you're my last teacher of a Thursday, it figures that you'd pick up on that."

Blaze giggled. "Well, a teacher has to be attentive to her students. Anyway, you go have fun. And don't let those bullies get to to you."

Marshall nodded. "Thanks again for saving me."

"Any time," Blaze smiled.

The brown fox gave a last smile of his own and finished locking his locker before turning and walking away, checking his phone for texts. He got some positive messages from Cream and Tails, who wished him good luck at the church.

Marshall quickly found his way to the bus stop and took the bus to the street which had his church, stopping at the right place to head into his building. At this time of day, it was fairly empty, save for a few people praying. Marshall smiled, thinking that it was good to see that some people still had faith.

He looked ahead to the confession booth to see an elderly woman just now leaving, being hugged by the priest to calm herself down. When she was feeling a bit better, she dipped her hand in the holy water and crossed herself before leaving the church, Marshall letting her pass on the way.

"Marshall," the priest said, walking over. "Good to see you, my son."

"Well, it's Thursday, so I'm just sticking to my schedule," Marshall chuckled. "Thank you for seeing me again, Father Zachary."

Father Zachary, or Zack, was an elderly white man with a bald head, save for the white hair going from his ears to the back of his head. He had dark brown eyes and some silvery grey stubble, suggesting that he hadn't shaved recently, which Marshall noticed.

"Trying to grow a beard?"

"Well, in the stained glass, the Lord was notable for His facial hair. I figured that I'd try and get on his level," Zachary chuckled. "So, shall we?"

"Yes, please," Marshall nodded.

Zachary nodded, guiding Marshall over to the confession booth. He sat in one half of it as Marshall sat in the other, the priest opening the partition and speaking in a calm, soothing tone that put the fox at ease.

"What is wrong, my son?" asked Zachary.

"Forgive me, father, for I have concerns," Marshall said.

"What concerns?"

"Concerns about my future, my life after school is over, and..." Marshall stopped himself.

"Tell me, my son," the priest said.

"I got into college. A good college. But that college has a rule that you need to know what your power is as a Mobian to get in, and you need good grades too." The fox sighed. "I worked so hard to get those grades, and I feel like I've only earned half of it. I... I don't know what my power is."

"Ah, I see."

"What if I never find out?" Marshall asked. "Would it seem like coasting through college if I only had one half of what got me there and never found out the other?"

"Well, that depends," said Zachary. "Do you feel like you worked hard enough to get there?"

"Oh, I do," said Marshall. "It's not wrong to feel proud about that, is it?"

Zachary chuckled. "I'm certain that even God felt some pride after creating life itself. After all, if sins didn't exist, we wouldn't be reminded of how good the world can be, provided that we don't focus too much on the bad."

Marshall sighed. "I guess you're right." He scratched his neck. "Still... it'd be nice to know what else I can offer."

"Marshall, if you're worried that you're not good enough for it, then that may be the biggest thing you have handing over your head," Zachary said. "You need to not worry about it so much. I trust that your guardians have done the same?"

Marshall nodded. "A lot. They still know my doubts, same as my teachers, fellow students, and my therapist." He shook his head. "Is... is there any difference between a priest and a therapist? I mean, both offer me advice that is useful, and told differently enough that it doesn't repeat anything, but... just because one doesn't believe in a higher power and one does... does that make one better than the other?"

"Well, your therapist is a good person, from what you've told me. This church, this religion, we accept good people, regardless of their beliefs or lack thereof," Zachary said. "I do with it were the same the other way around, though."

"Me too," Marshall replied.

"Are there any other stories?" Zachary asked. "How about your bullies? I noticed a mark on your neck that seems to be fading."

"Oh, that was an altercation from yesterday," said Marshall. "Got into a similar one before finishing school today, but my teacher stopped it from getting worse."

"Ah, good," the priest nodded.

The fox nodded. "Yeah..." He put his head in his hands.

"How about your family?"

Marshall chuckled. "They were more than happy to find out that I got into college, but they know my worries that I don't know my powers yet. And... um..."

"And... what?"

"Well, you've heard about those recent killings, right?"

The priest gulped. "I have. It's... it's a terrible shame what happened to that family. A new body turned up last night, if I remember correctly."

"It did," Marshall said. "Anyway, I looked it up online last night, and when I tried to sleep... well, it didn't go well. I had... not nightmares, and not dreams, but something weird. Something that I can't quite imagine."

"Like what?" Zachary asked.

"My... I dunno how to explain it, but yesterday on the way back from school, I saw two trees, and hanged up between them was a bleeding body. It looked tortured, like it had been beaten. I shook my head and looked again, and it wasn't there. A similar thing happened last night."

"What happened?"

"I was looking up the victim's bodies, including the most recent one, and thought I saw a blood splatter on one of the leaves near where the body was found, but I looked again, and it was gone," said Marshall. "I'm... I have to be going crazy."

"Did you tell your therapist about this?" asked Zachary.

"No, I didn't. I visit him once a week, and I didn't really have the hallucinations until after I left."

"And did anything unusual happen whilst you were there?"

"No," Marshall said. "It was a normal visit. I told him about my week up until that point, told him how my medication was helping, and left."

Zachary nodded. "I understand. I just thought I'd ask to see if that was part of the reason."

Marshall shrugged. "Maybe I'm just tired. Like I said, I've been working hard to get my grades up. Maybe last night's combination of dead bodies, exciting news, and bad dreams might have affected me."

"My best advice would be to try and get another early night," said the priest. "Leave the police work to Tails and just focus on yourself."

Marshall nodded again. "Thank you, Father."

"It's no problem," said Zachary. "Now, bless yourself with the holy water and go with God, my son."

The two left the partition, sharing a hug before Marshall dipped his fingers into the holy water. He sighed and crossed himself, mumbling a few words to God before leaving the church, soon finding himself on the bus back home.

Later that day, he was in his room, wearing a black pair of jeans and grey sneakers but being shirtless. He looked between a fancy blue polo shirt, a black dress shirt, or a white basketball tank top jersey.

"Hmm... which would Cosmo like the most?"

He heard a knock from outside. "Marshall?"

"Come in!" he replied.

Cream entered, blushing as she saw Marshall's lack of shirt. "Um... you should..."

The fox nodded and blushed, putting on the polo shirt. "Just... just trying to think of a good shirt to wear."

"I can see that," Cream giggled, looking around. "I see that you cleaned your room too."

"Y-Yeah," Marshall smiled. "I realised that it got super messy when I was focusing on my studies."

Cream stepped closer to Marshall, lightly touching his face. "You look tired. And it's not just the black eye."

Marshall nodded. "Just had a bad dream last night. I'll be okay."

"Tails told me about you looking up those dead bodies," said Cream. "Don't worry about that. That's his job, so just let him do it."

Marshall nodded. "I will." He then cleared his throat. "I... I need to get dressed."

"Oh, sorry! I'll leave you to it," Cream giggled nervously, walking out.

Marshall settled on the jersey, since it was mostly a friendly date, and he put it on, thankful that he remembered to spray himself with deodorant. He waited out the rest of the time until the doorbell rang, and he went down the stairs to answer it. He saw Cream, wearing a brown jacket over a mint green button up shirt which itself was unbuttoned, showing a white camisole underneath, along with blue jeans and black heeled boots.

"Cosmo," he smiled. "Right on time."

"Well, it's important to be punctual, I think," she giggles. "You look pretty good for a guy who's about to eat some pizza."

"I wanted to look good for you, not the pizza," Marshall smiled.

"Ooh, you suave fox, you," Cosmo said, waving behind him. "Hi, Cream!"

"Hi, Cosmo!" the rabbit said. "You about to head out?"

"Yeah, I need to steal your son for a couple of hours," Cosmo joked.

"Oh, it's fine if he wants to stay over tonight," Cream smiled.

Marshall blushed, grabbing a Hollywood Undead hoodie. "I... I'd like that, but... I should get back early anyway."

Cosmo giggled. "It's fine. Come on, tall, furry, and adorable. Let's get moving."

Marshall smiled, turning to Cream. "See you later!"

"Have fun!" Cream waved.

The fox and the plant girl soon left the house, heading for the bus stop and holding hands on the way there. Soon, they arrived, as did their bus, and they sat next to each other on the way to the pizza place, listening to music on the way through Marshall's phone.

"Got some good songs on there," Cosmo giggled.

"It's a mix of stuff," Marshall shrugged. "I usually have one mix for my self-defence classes and a different one for when I'm studying. I don't really have a date with a cute girl mix, so I went with just a random shuffle and got lucky."

Cosmo giggled, and the bus came to a stop. "Hopefully, I'm the only one that gets to share that mix with you."

Marshall just blushed nervously, and soon, the two got off their bus, heading up the street near Cosmo's place and past it to reach their destination. Marshall had seen the Pizza The Pie many times, but he still was amazed by the homely atmosphere of it all. The colours were mostly a deep red and bright yellow, with black tiled walls and floors, multiple tables large enough for huge pizzas, and even smaller tables too for couples.

Cosmo and Marshall headed to the front desk, being asked for their order. They agreed to go split, with Marshall going for pepperoni and Cosmo going for a vegetarian option which had more greens on it.

"I'll pay for it," Marshall said.

"Are you sure?" Cosmo asked. "I'm the one who asked you out, remember?"

"I know, but... please? It's the least that I could do to thank you for offering in the first place."

Cosmo smiled at the fox. "You're too sweet for me, you know that?"

Marshall blushed. "Anything for a lady as beautiful as you."

Cosmo giggled and kissed Marshall's cheek. "I'll go get a table for us."

The fox nodded. "Oh, do you want any drinks or sides?"

"Some Dr. Peppers, and just some mozzarella sticks for me with some sauce," Cosmo said.

Marshall nodded, turning to the cook and saying that he'll have the same, and said cook nodded, jotting everything down and getting it all ready. As the food was being cooked, Marshall looked up at the orders on the display board, seeing images of drinks with a pair of straws in an X next to them, and he shook his head, thinking back to last night. He rubbed his eyes and see just the straws this time, shaking his head.

"You okay?" a customer next to him asked.

Marshall nodded. "Yeah. Just give me a second." He quickly went to the nearby bathroom and splashed some water onto himself, seeing himself in the mirror. "What's happening to me? And why is it happening now?" He shook his head and quickly washed his hands. "Urgh... I'll be fine..." He walked out, seeing his food waiting on the desk. He walked over, paying for it with his card before taking the tray with some thanks and going over to Cosmo, who had taken her jacket off to relax.

"You okay there?" Cosmo asked. "You went to the bathroom pretty quickly."

"Yeah, just needed to freshen up," Marshall said.

"You know, you're cute, but you're a bad liar," said Cosmo. "I saw you rub your eyes when you were waiting for the food, and it didn't look tired to me."

The brown fox chuckled as he finally sat down, setting the food down. "You catch on quick. But... well, what I'm about to tell you I haven't told anyone except for Father Zachary."

"Oh, is it a bad thing?" Cosmo asked. "Like, a super bad thing? Or not?"

Marshall sighed. "You'd probably think that I'm crazy if I told you."

Cosmo reached out and touched his hand. "I'd think you were more crazy if you just told everyone already."

Marshall touched her hand back and squeezed. "Here goes. I... I've been seeing weird things lately."

"How lately?" asked Cosmo.

"After I saw Espio for therapy," Marshall said. "Sans the run-in with Hyder, I was completely fine. But on the bus drive back, I saw something. It... it wasn't a pretty something..."

"What was it, exactly?" Cosmo asked.

"I... oh, boy... it was a body. It was naked, save for some jeans. It looked bloody, like it was beaten, tortured. It was hanged up between two trees by... rope, I guess? I don't fully remember." Marshall sighed. "I shook my head and it was gone. Then when I got back home, after cleaning my room and having food with my family, there was a news report."

"Oh, it's about that killer, right?" Cosmo asked.

"You've heard about him?" Marshall asked.

"It played over the radio when I was studying earlier," Cosmo said. "I'll admit, it was an odd whiplash to go from high energy music to an announcement that grim."

Marshall chuckled. "You're telling me. We were enjoying a nice dessert when we saw it on TV. I guess that something that bad can ruin any good thing that you're doing."

"Got that right," Cosmo agreed. "So, what happened after the news report?"

"I... looked it up for myself. Just to see how bad it was. It didn't help that I smoked some weed beforehand, but I know that I wasn't high when I saw what I saw..."

"Dead bodies?" Cosmo asked.

"Not just that, but one of them... they were next to a pile of leaves, and it looked like that place that I saw on the way back home from therapy," Marshall said. "There was blood on one of the leaves, and it looked like an X, like how that guy was hooked up."

"Hmm... well, the killer is called the Ten Killer, right?" Cosmo asked.

"Right," said Marshall. "What, you think the X was a calling card?"

"I don't think that a killer this smart would leave a calling card that obvious," said Cosmo. "Especially if it's just something that you saw in your head."

"I told you that you'd call me crazy," said Marshall.

"No, you said that I'd think you were crazy," Cosmo corrected with a disarming smile. "And I don't. If you know this, you should tell Tails."

"I can't," Marshall said. "My interview for college is tomorrow, and if I tell him now after the trail has gone cold, who knows what'll happen?" The fox scratched his head. "Besides, he already caught me looking at pictures of the bodies of the victims. I'm in deep enough as it is with that."

"What about Cream?"

"Cream tells Tails everything, so if I tell her, she tells Tails, and it doesn't change anything," Marshall shrugged. "We're right back to square one."

"So, what? Are you just going to try and find out for yourself?" Cosmo asked.

"I... I dunno if that's a good idea, but it's the only one that I have," Marshall shrugged. "But I can't just sneak out the house on my own. Tails has alarms and security set for stuff like that."

"What if I helped you?" Cosmo asked.

"What?"

"What if you and me faked going for another date tomorrow night after you come back from your interview?"

"Cosmo... we can't," said Marshall. "We shouldn't, okay? It's bad enough that I'm seeing this. I don't want to risk you getting hurt just because I think that I'm seeing crazy things."

"Well, what do you propose that we do?" asked Cosmo.

"I don't know..." Marshall shook his head and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. "Maybe I am just getting sleepy and this is just a dream and I didn't tell a girl who I like that I'm seeing weird stuff everywhere."

Cosmo pinched Marshall's arm, eliciting a pained yelp of surprise from the fox, before smiling. "You're not dreaming, fuzzy. And you sure as hell ain't crazy either."

"Well, I can't just do nothing about it," Marshall said. "I have to do something... but what?"

"Listen, you're smart, and you'll figure it out," said Cosmo. "I have faith in you, okay?"

"So, a fellow smart person doesn't have any ideas to help?" Marshall smirked.

Cosmo shrugged. "Hey, if I come up with something for you, you'll know," she giggled.

Marshall smiled, and the two soon tucked in to their food, given that it had cooled down enough during the course of their conversation. They talked over smaller things as they ate, enjoying their conversation as Cosmo laughed at some of Marshall's silly jokes.

Soon, they were all finished, with Marshall putting the trash of it all away before going to the bathroom just in case. Cosmo did the same, and soon they finished, washed up, and left the Pizza The Pie, heading for Cosmo's place first since it was nearer.

"Well, we're here," Cosmo smiled, turning to face Marshall. "I had fun tonight."

"I did too, odd confessions aside," Marshall grinned. "Thank you for this. I needed to clear my head. There's so much going on, so it was nice, you know?"

"I know," said Cosmo. "Aren't you going to give me a goodbye kiss?"

Marshall leaned down and kissed the plant girl, who kissed back. It was a quick meeting of lips, soon separated and turned into a hug. Soon, the two broke from their hug, and Cosmo thanked Marshall once again before heading into her house, sharing a wave with Marshall.

The fox soon found himself on the next bus home, making it there with little issue, not to mention no hallucinations. He got home, seeing Cream asleep on the couch, curled up with Tails who was awake, drinking some beer and smiling at Marshall as he came in.

"Have fun, kiddo?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was a good time," Marshall smiled.

Tails chuckled. "Big day tomorrow, right?"

"Yep, big day," Marshall said. "I'm going to head to bed."

"Sure thing," Tails said. "Night, son."

Marshall smiled, hugging Tails. "Night, dad... man, that feels weird..."

The two foxes shared a laugh, and soon, Marshall was upstairs, checking his phone and seeing that it was late. He shrugged, going to his laptop and opening up his "Keepsakes" folder, deciding to add another part to it. He opened up his writing program.

"Keepsake number 88," he started. "Another day in the life of me, just average stuff. Get through classes, try to stay out of trouble, wind up fighting with Hyder anyway because he's a pain in my butt."

Marshall chuckled to himself. "It was in my last class where I saw something that wasn't there again, and it happened last night. I know that I was a little bit stoned at the time, and that I was looking up recent pictures of the dead bodies of a bad serial killer but..."

He cut himself off, moving on to the next part. "I keep seeing gruesome images in my mind, and the letter X... why?" He kept typing. "Hyder and I almost got into another fight before Blaze saved me. She's a nice teacher."

He then put in another paragraph and continued. "The rest of the day was smooth, as it goes. I spoke to Father Zachary about my hallucinations and my doubts about college, and told Cosmo about it too. It's... it's really not often that I find myself questioning my faith, but it gets harder to believe in a God when I'm seeing things that aren't even there."

He shook his head. "But I can't let that get to me. I can't let Hyder, the hallucinations, or what I saw last night about the bodies get to me. I need to focus. Tomorrow is maybe the biggest day of my life, and I need to clear my mind and make it right. My name is Marshall, and this is my keepsake."

He saved it into his "Keepsakes" folder, soon turning things off. He did mull over looking up the victims' bodies again, but instead focused on something else in his mind, namely the better times of the day that he had. He kept those memories with him as he went to sleep.

* * *

 **And that's it for another chapter! I'm enjoying writing this. Believe me, in a couple more chapters, it'll get a bit darker, but I'm not going to just jump in headfirst. I hope y'all liked it, and that you liked the building between Marshall and Cosmo. I'll see you all next time. Take care, and stay tuned.**


	4. Finer Details

Marshall sighed, walking back and forth in his room as he held a piece of paper. On said piece of paper were all of his grades up until that point, his focus fixed on how far he'd come in IT and electronics related classes. He knew this because he wrote all of these down himself from an official piece of paper, reading a speech that he'd prepared that wasn't on the official piece.

"So, I'm proud to be a part of West Mobius University, and I'm going to do my best..." He finished off the speech, sighing. "No, that's not it. Why am I even doing this? I have to get into the college first, and I don't have my powers yet, and-" He stopped, sitting on his bed and sighing a breath out. He checked his watch, seeing how much time he had. "All right... I should take a shower to be safe..."

He got up off of his bed, grabbing a change of clothes before heading to the bathroom and calling out to Tails and Cream that he was going in the shower. He entered the bathroom, turning the water on and getting his towel ready to dry off for when he was done.

He stepped under the stream, closing his eyes as he cleaned his fur, going over his tail especially. As he kept his eyes closed, he flashed back to the dead bodies, shaking his head and holding it in his hands as he tried to focus on cleaning himself.

He was soon finished, exiting the shower and going to the mirror after drying his face, drawing an X onto the frosted mirror with a damp finger. "What do you mean? Why do you keep popping up in my head?" He shook his head. "What's wrong with me?"

A knock on the door was heard, followed by Cream's voice. "Are you done?"

"Uh... yes! Just drying off and getting changed!" He hurried with the process, even spraying himself after, before getting dressed and leaving the bathroom, thankful that he left the shower on as he rushed past Cream.

He quickly got to his room, deciding to hop onto the laptop. "Come on... give me something..." He searched on the net for any new information about the bodies, sighing when he couldn't find anything. "There's got to be something!" He kept looking, seeing a witness report video. He clicked on the article, seeing a Mobian stoat speaking.

"I was neighbours with the deceased, and... I can't believe that this happened..." the stoat said.

"Did you notice anything odd?" asked the reporter speaking to him.

"N-No... I don't think- wait, I did! There was some weird mark on the sister's neck before she was killed. It looked kind of like a plus sign..."

Marshall scratched his head, before snapping his fingers. "Plus sign... turn it around enough, you've got an X."

"I remember seeing it on her when she came home one night, looking drunk, but I couldn't smell anything on her breath beforehand," said the stoat. "It was a weird thing, and I didn't bother to ask her because she didn't look too good."

"Thank you for your time, sir," the reporter said as the video ended.

"Well... she did die of a bad head wound," Marshall remembered. "But I doubt that she was clocked with something and made it all the way back to her place." He kept looking for information on the victims, still not finding anything on the third. "Still no cause of death... guess they're trying to keep it private until they can confirm that it was related, despite him knowing both of the other victims..." Marshall shook his head.

He went downstairs, seeing Tails on his phone, swearing as he hanged up. "Fucking dammit..." the two-tailed fox muttered.

"What's wrong?" Marshall asked.

"I just got some info from the morgue on the new body," Tails said. "They need me down there to look at it."

"But... the interview..." Marshall started.

"Yeah, I know," Tails said. "I tried talking to them to get me to do it tomorrow, but they didn't take that for an answer. They pretty much have me by the throat here."

Marshall sighed. "Great. As if I weren't worried about this interview enough, now my dad's got to go and play hero again."

"It's just looking at a body," said Tails. "I'm sorry that I didn't book the day off for today. I know that I had the time because I didn't have any more leads into this 10 Killer thing. But now I do, and we don't know for how long."

"Don't they keep the bodies there?" asked Marshall.

"They do for 48 hours," Tails confirmed. "But I'd have to get up wicked early just to see it again."

"Then do that?" Marshall asked. "For me?"

Tails was about to respond, but then Cream came down, all clean and dry. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Well... I got a huge lead..." Tails said.

"Tails..." Cream started.

"I know," the yellow fox nodded. "Which is why I'll wait until tomorrow to check it out."

Marshall looked at Tails curiously, his expression touching the edges of joy. "You will?"

Tails nodded. "I'm not going to miss out on you getting into college, okay?"

Marshall rushed over and hugged Tails, who hugged back, happily. Cream joined in too, causing the others to laugh as they shared a group hug. Soon, they all broke apart, and Tails got his phone from his pocket.

"I can just message them and check it tomorrow," Tails said. "It's no big deal. We still have time for the body, anyway." He finished the text and hit send, sniffing himself. "Ugh... I should shower quickly." He chuckled and rushed upstairs.

Marshall turned to Cream. "I don't know what mind trick you used to keep him from leaving, but... thank you."

The rabbit giggled. "It's no problem. I know that you really wanted him there with you tonight. He's just been so busy that he might have forgotten."

Marshall sighed. "That's not a great excuse, but... I see your point. And his."

Cream nodded, and the two sat and waited for Tails, knowing that he wouldn't be long. After a 10 minute wait, Tails was coming down the stairs, looking clean and presentable, welcomed by a hug and a kiss from Cream.

"So, we ready to get going?" Tails asked.

"Yep," Marshall said.

Tails nodded, and the three left their house, making sure to lock all the doors beforehand. They noticed the sky getting darker as evening started to set in, hopping into a black car which belonged to Tails. Cream rode shotgun as Marshall sat in the back, and the drive to the high school started.

On the way there, Marshall took note in his head of the distance between his house and the two trees, where there was still some police tape. There was also some officers looking around it, who waved at the family as they passed, recognising Tails, who honked in reply.

Soon after, they were at the high school, instructed to go to the head office where Mighty would be waiting. There was an interview going on inside already, so the family took a seat nearby as they waited for the interview to finish. After a few more minutes, the interviewee left, pumping her fists in the air excitedly.

"Looks like it went well for her," said Cream.

"Let's hope that the trend continues for me," Marshall said.

Sally poked her head from behind the door, smiling. "Ah, Marshall! Mighty will see you now."

"All of us?" asked Marshall.

"Well, we only have one seat," Sally said. "But there's no rules against parents or guardians, so."

Marshall chuckled, leaving his seat with Tails and Cream following. They entered the office, with Marshall sitting at the chair in front of the desk, opposite Mighty, whilst Sally took a stand beside the armadillo. Tails and Cream stood left and right respectively of Marshall.

"So, it's good to see you here," Mighty smiled. "As I've said already, you're already set for college, but I wanted to just go over some stuff with you."

"Yeah, I know," Marshall nodded. "It's why I'm here."

Mighty nodded back, looking at a sheet in front of him. "So, first thing's first, do you feel like you're progressing well in school so far?"

Marshall nodded. "Yeah, I think so. I'm working as hard as I can do get the course that I want, and I feel like I've got the right focus for it."

"Very good," Mighty said. "All right, why did you choose that course? And, by extension, why work for it?"

"I chose that course because I want to do something different to help people. I don't just want to fix someone's net connection or anything like that. I want to be able to repair things, to fix things, to make those things better." Marshall gulped a bit. "And I worked for it because I have that goal in mind. Sure, it's not jumping into fire or performing surgery or protecting our streets, but I want to help people in my own way."

Tails put a hand on Marshall's shoulder, smiling. "And you will."

"From the way it's going, it seems so," Mighty affirmed with a friendly grin. "How would you say your average life at school goes, and what would you hope is different should you get to college?"

"Well, I'd say it's usually go to lesson, learn what I can, write things down, and so on," Marshall said. "Sit, listen, and work."

"What about lunch and such?" Mighty questioned.

"I... I usually eat lunch on my own in a bathroom because I'm worried that a bigoted pain in my neck might actually kill me one day..." Marshall said.

"Hyder," Mighty nodded. "I've heard of him. Which leads me to the next question, if I may?"

The brown fox nodded, wiping his thumbs over his eyes. "S-Sure."

The armadillo cleared his throat and continued. "So, what would you hope is different?"

"Oh, um... probably no bullies," Marshall said. "I just want a nice class where people can get along without hating on other people regardless of their backgrounds, ethnicity, or those that they love."

"That is a very mature answer," Mighty smiled. "More so than I usually get, to be honest."

Marshall smiled. "Thank you, sir."

Mighty chuckled, before continuing. "Do you have any hesitations about college?"

"Well, a lot of it will be new people, which I get nervous around as it is," said Marshall. "But mostly, I'm worried because... well, I don't know what my power is yet."

"This one's not on the list, but are you hoping to find out in college?" asked Mighty.

Marshall nodded. "Yes, I am. I can't be the only late bloomer, right?"

"No, that is true," Mighty said. "I've heard of students who didn't get their powers until they graduated. So the possibility of you getting yours at college isn't too far fetched."

Marshall nodded. "Thank you. But, yeah, besides that, I don't have any hesitations."

Mighty nodded. "All right." He cleared his throat again. "And finally, what do you hope to achieve by the end of your college days?"

"I hope to do what I said I would do, and that's help people in my own way," Marshall answered. "That's all that I want to do, and I don't want to do it just to rub it in other people's faces. I do want to help however I can, maybe even helping those who got dealt a similar card as me, or maybe those not as lucky as I am."

"One of the more altruistic answers I've had," Mighty smirked. "This next one isn't really a question, but... well, it is to do with your powers."

"What is it?" asked Marshall.

"Well, some Mobian students who go to certain colleges are given a week of training if they haven't found their ability yet," Mighty said. "Perhaps you'd like to be part of the course, if you're interested."

"Will other students be there?" Marshall asked. "Or is it just going to be me?"

"There will be some others, from different high schools too," Mighty said.

"Does it cost extra?" asked Tails.

"No, not the first week," said Mighty. "But if you want to extend that time, then it won't cost much. $3.50 a week, rounded up to $10.00 a month."

"Months?" Cream asked. "Have some students really gone that long without knowing their abilities?"

"Yes," said the armadillo. "Some have even given up completely only to find their power after finishing college or a semester or what have you."

"Could we talk this over with Marshall quickly?" Tails asked. "In private?"

"Of course. We'll be here for you."

The two-tailed fox nodded, and he, Cream, and Marshall stood outside the office, deciding to stand by the seats so that people could pass if need be. Marshall had a look of trepidation on his face, scratching the back of his head.

"So... you up for it?" Tails asked him.

"Up for what? The free course?" Marshall asked. "I... I don't know..."

"Well, you can't really get bullied there, since there's other people who don't know their own powers," said Tails.

"That's not my worry," Marshall said. "I... I can't fly like you, I can't run fast, or teleport, or punch a crater into the ground. All I know is that I'm a good student who's great with electronics and technology, and I'm decent at cooking."

"You're also kind, goodhearted, and a hard worker," Cream said. "If you want to take the bonus course, nobody will hold that against you. It'll give you more time, and you might even meet another student who's in the same boat as you."

"And it'll be at the college itself," Tails added. "Plus, with other students maybe being people not from this school, you don't have to worry about people you do or don't know. It could be a good chance to make some new friends."

Marshall sighed, rubbing his eyes with his fingers. "I want to try it, but what if I don't find out?"

"At least try the free week," Tails said. "If you don't find out, we don't mind paying more for you."

"Do you think that those extra weeks come with normal college days too?" Marshall asked. "Mighty never did make that clear."

"We'll ask him when we get back in there," said Cream, giggling. "So, will you?"

The brown fox shrugged. "I... I really don't know..." He sighed and sagged against the wall, mulling it over in his head. "I... look, if there's even a slight chance, I'll take the free week. But nothing past that, okay?"

"Fair enough," Tails said. "But, who knows? You might not discover your powers, and might want to keep trying, seeing as you're a hard worker and all."

Marshall playfully shook his head. "Doubtful, but not outside of the realm of possibility either." He smiled. "Let's get back inside."

They all went back in, and Mighty smiled as Marshall sat down again, the guardians on the same sides as earlier. "So, have you reached a decision?"

"I'm taking the free week," said Marshall. "But a quick question?"

"Yes?"

"If we were to pay for others, would that coincide with college time at all?" asked Marshall.

"Ah, good question. Actually, for each college day, there'd be an hour off of a class of your choosing to gather with others and try to learn your powers," Mighty nodded.

"Sweet! I get to blow off a class and learn cool stuff at the same time!" Marshall cracked, causing the others to laugh too.

"I'm glad that you talked it over," Mighty said, recovering from his laughter. "So, you're really okay with it?"

"Yes," Marshall said. "I'll give it a shot and see where it takes me."

Mighty smiled. "Of course." He stood and shook hands with Marshall. "Thank you for coming, and I hope to see you back at school on Monday. Remember, only a week left before college break."

"I know," Marshall said as the handshake stopped. "Thank you, sir. This really means a lot."

"It's not me you should thank," Mighty said. "You're the one who worked your fingers to the bone just to get here. I hope that you prove me right."

"I do too," Marshall nodded.

He then turned and left the office, Tails and Cream following behind him. As they left, Marshall thought that he caught a glimpse of someone's face nearby, looking only to see nothing. He shrugged, walking the rest of the way with the others to get into their car, driving home.

As they passed the two trees again, Marshall looked at the crime scene, seeing the policemen wrapping things up and about to leave in their car. Tails' own car stopped before the red light, so Marshall drew an X on the frosted window of the cold night, lining it up with the trees.

As the car moved again, Tails spoke up, looking behind him. "You know, you've looked at that crime scene twice today," he said. "Maybe more times on your computer. Are you okay?"

"It's just... I don't fully understand it myself," Marshall said. "The victims are vaguely related in some way, but it's not a gender killing because of who he's killed, and I don't think it's just him killing Mobians because there's been reports done on humans who've gone missing too. Why is he doing what he does?"

"Hey, you don't need to worry about it," Tails said. "I told you that before. You leave that sick bastard to me, okay?"

Marshall nodded. "Yeah... thanks."

The rest of the drive was quiet, and as they got back in, Cream took note of the time. She went into the kitchen, taking Marshall with her as they prepared some dessert. Marshall was getting some ingredients, turning around to face Cream.

"Yes?" he asked.

The rabbit sighed. "I... I don't want you to feel so down about the free week..." she said.

"Hey, I agreed to it," Marshall said. "It'll be a good shot for me to see what I can do."

"Are you two okay in there?" Tails asked from the living room.

"We're fine!" said Cream, turning back to Marshall. "Listen, you don't have to worry. You know that we're proud of you, right?"

Marshall nodded. "I know."

"And that whatever's happening, you can tell us, right?"

Marshall sighed. "I know. I guess... I dunno. I'm probably still stressed from the college thing. Excited stressed or tired stressed... maybe both."

"How about you try and get an early night?" Cream asked.

"I'll try to after we've eaten and I've done the dishes," Marshall said.

"I'll handle that for you, if you want," Cream offered.

"Are... you sure? Because I don't mind taking care of it. It's not that big a deal."

Cream nodded. "I'm sure."

Marshall smiled and hugged her. "In all honesty, I do appreciate it a lot."

Cream hugged back. "I know that you do. Come on, let's get this food done."

The tall brown fox nodded, and the two got back to work on the dessert, making some chocolate ice-cream from scratch, with little strawberries and some maple syrup. After finishing making it, the two gave it a test taste, both giving an appreciative nod.

Marshall quickly got three bowls to pour the dessert in, and soon, he and Cream joined Tails in the living room, giving him his bowl as they took their own seats. They saw that Tails was flicking through channels, his attention grabbed when he saw the food.

"Thank you, dear," Tails said to Cream.

"No problem," the rabbit replied.

Tails tried some, smiling in approval. "Mmm... this tastes good! All from scratch, right?"

"That's right," Cream giggled. "Marshall helped too."

"Eh, I got the bowls out," Marshall shrugged. "Cream did all of the hard work."

They all shared a laugh at that, and soon, all were finished with their food. Marshall was about to gather everyone's bowls, but then Cream reminded him to get his early night. With a chuckle and a nod, Marshall turned to go up the stairs, heading for his bedroom.

"Night, guys!" he called as he left.

"Night, sweetie!" Cream called back.

"Night, kiddo! Have a good one!" Tails added.

Marshall chuckled, going the rest of the way up the stairs and going to his bedroom. He sighed, checking the time on his phone and shrugging. "Screw it. May as well write before bed." He went over to his computer, turning it on and opening the "Keepsakes" folder again, also opening a document to write with.

"Keepsake number 89," Marshall typed, "I had my interview for college today to sort out the little things. I got in successfully, and like I always do, I laid my honesty on the line. The fact that I've made it as far as I have still excites and confuses me." He smiled and carried on. "Mighty has faith in me, and he even made me a good offer of a free week before college to test what my powers could be. My parents are even willing to pay for extra weeks, if need be. I'm hoping that it won't come to that."

He entered another paragraph. "Haven't really had as many visions or hallucinations or whatever you want to call them today. I saw the crime scene by the two trees when me and the family drove to my school and back. I even drew an X on the window. But before we came back, as we left the office, I felt like something was watching me..." He sighed and carried on. "If there's one thing that I didn't need along with what I think I'm seeing, it's feeling like someone or something is watching me."

He rubbed his eyes, checking the time again. "Hopefully I can get this fixed soon, whatever it is. I just need some sleep. That's probably it. Might be lack of sleep... I hope. My name is Marshall, and this is my keepsake."

He then saved it into his "Keepsakes" folder, yawning as he did so before turning it off. He put some pyjamas on and then put his phone on charge before turning off any remaining lights, deciding to head straight to bed and try and get to sleep, curling up in his sheets.

 **In Marshall's dream...**

 _It didn't take him long to drift off, and soon, he was dreaming that he was on his own in the house. He called out for his parents, but heard nothing from them. He went to his bedroom door, opening it, only to enter a white room with a flickering light._

 _"Where am I?" he asked. He looked around again, seeing a huge mirror on the left-hand side of the room. When he turned back to the centre of the room, there was a small table with a locked box on the top of it._

 _"Hello? Is anyone there?" he asked again, going to the box. He looked at the lock, but instead of turning away from it, he opened it up, knowing the combination by heart, which surprised him. He opened the box up, seeing the severed heads of Tails and Cream inside._

 **In reality...**

"No!" Marshall shot up as he woke. He put his head in his hands and wiped some tears, worried at the thought of losing his family, let alone in such a gruesome way. But one thing bothered him more. "How... how did I know that? It... it was probably a dream thing... ugh..."

A knock sounded on the door. "Marshall?" Cream's voice asked. "Are you okay in there?"

"Just had a bad dream!" Marshall called. "I'll try and get back to sleep! Sorry if I woke you!"

"It's no trouble!" Cream said. She then hesitated before speaking again. "You want a pill to help you sleep?"

Marshall sighed and shuddered, but nodded. "Yeah... please..."

The sound of the rabbit's footsteps were heard going to the bathroom, and she was soon in the medicine cabinet, getting the pills in question. She returned to Marshall's bedroom, knocking and entering.

"Here," she said, handing him the pills and water.

"Thank you..." Marshall replied. He swallowed the pill, followed by the water. "Hope it helps..."

"I do too," Cream said. "You get your rest, okay?"

"I will," Marshall said. "Goodnight, Cream."

"Goodnight," she replied. "I love you."

He blushed. "I love you too."

Cream then departed, and Marshall smiled a bit as she did, but soon the pills took over, and he yawned. Not wanting to maybe risk another nightmare, he went to his plushies and got Diez again, and as he sat up in his bed, Marshall looked out at his bedroom window, thinking something over before laying back and going to sleep.

* * *

 **That's another chapter done! Sorry that it took a bit longer. Internet issues and whatnot, so process on future things may be a bit slow depending on how kind everything is to me. Still, hope you enjoyed it, especially with the first taste of something more horrific in the story. I'll see you next time for my next Love And War chapter. Take care, and stay tuned.**


	5. House Cooling Party

It was afternoon, just after lunch, and Marshall laid back in his bed, trying to take his mind off of the previous night. He closed his eyes, listening to "Do I Want To Know?" by Arctic Monkeys, as it was the most chill song that he could think of at that point.

He stayed still where he was as his right hand brought a joint of weed to his mouth, and he puffed on it before breathing out. "Last night... what do I even make of that? Was it a nightmare? That seems too obvious, right?" He sighed and rubbed is head with his other hand.

Tails and Cream were out, both for different reasons. Tails was told to go to the morgue to learn any more information that he could, and Cream had some shopping to do, mostly because she wanted to make Marshall a surprise cake that he didn't know about.

Marshall continued to lay back in bed, and was about to take another puff when his phone went off. He saw the number of the police and panicked, turning his music off before putting his weed in an ashtray to his side, answering the phone afterwards.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Hey, kid! It's Tails."

"Oh, phew..." Marshall breathed.

Tails paused. "Um... you seem more worried than usual. Everything okay?"

Marshall coughed a bit before nodding. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just, with the house to myself, I was worried to see the number, so."

Tails smiled. "Well, I'm just letting you know that I don't know how long I'll be away today. There's been a lot of new information turning up, and I've got my usual patrols to do too. Maybe more, because certain teams are working a crazy schedule around the clock. I could be digging up corpses one moment and driving up and down a street the next."

"So, you won't be back for what Cream has planned?" Marshall asked.

"Sorry, but... it doesn't look like it," Tails said. "I really wish that I could be. This whole Ten Killer thing has gotten everyone on edge."

"Well... did you discover anything new?" Marshall asked.

"Our mortician's got some new stuff, but nothing that might lead to anything," Tails said. "We may have one witness who knew them before that's safe, but we don't know where they are, so that leaves the trail cold."

"And that person could wind up dead before you get to them?" Marshall guessed.

"Yeah, they could," Tails nodded, grimly. "Which is why we need to work hard, and is why..."

Marshall nodded. "I know. I'll tell Cream when she gets back home, okay?"

"Where is she?" Tails asked.

"Doing some shopping. I offered to go with her, but she said no," Marshall shrugged.

Tails chuckled. "All right. I'll see you soon."

"Yeah, you too," Marshall replied. Not ten seconds after hanging up, the phone went off again, and Marshall answered it without checking the number this time. "Tails again?" he asked.

"Nope. Cosmo, for the first time," the voice on the other end came.

Marshall smiled, feeling his mood lighten up a bit. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well, since you're heading to college and will be spending a week learning what your power is, we were wondering if you wanted a little party with us?" Cosmo asked.

"I... I dunno..." Marshall said. "I'm not a big drinker, or old enough."

"Oh, there won't be alcohol. We're having a campfire party tonight by the lake," she smiled.

"We?"

"Me, some other friends, and you, if you're up for it," Cosmo giggled.

Marshall mulled it over, before giving a nod. "I'd like that."

"Great!" Cosmo smiled. "Is 9:00 too late?"

"Nah, it's good," Marshall said. "Long as I'm back fairly soon for bed and what have you."

"I've got no problem with that," Cosmo giggled. "I'll see you then."

"Wait, what's the plan to get there?" Marshall asked. "Tails can't drive me, and Cream will want to relax by that point, so I can't ask her."

"I'll come and pick you up just like last time," Cosmo said. "It's no issue."

Marshall nodded. "All right. I'll... I'll see you then," he smiled.

"Later, cutie," the green girl said, hanging up.

Marshall sighed and laid back down, picking up his joint to see that it had gone out. He grunted a bit and went to light it again, but remembered that he left his lighter in a desk drawer. He went over to open it, and as he did, his mind flashed back to his nightmare, only this time, he saw a weird looking mask.

"What in the world?"

The mask in question was yellow, and looked almost humanoid, with features that would fit someone's face, almost melded onto it. Besides it being yellow, it had two black, hollow eyes, the left of which had an X scratched over it. It also had a sickening grin, showing rows of sharp teeth.

Out of curiosity, Marshall reached to pick it up, only for it to turn into a yellow lighter. When it did change back, the fox yelped a bit in fear and dropped it onto the ground, looking back at his joint in the ashtray and rubbing his eyes with his hands.

"I really need to stop getting high when I'm stressed... all it does is makes things worse..."

He bent down to pick the lighter up again, going back to his bed and almost relighting the weed before deciding against it. He pocketed his phone, which he remembered to charge, and went downstairs to the kitchen to get himself some water. As soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw the door open, Cream entering through with a smile beaming on her face.

"Hey there, Marshall!" she said, smiling.

"Hey! You made it back safe!" Marshall said.

"Of course I did," Cream giggled. "Why would I not?"

"Well... I got a call from the cops earlier and got worried," Marshall said. "Okay, so it was just Tails, but still."

Cream smiled. "I appreciate the worry, but I'm fine. However, I'm guessing that he's going to be late, no?"

"Yeah..." Marshall nodded. "You don't sound as sad as I thought that you'd be."

Cream nodded. "Well, with all that's going on, a new lead could happen at any time, a new case could pop up, and he works hard... but I've gotten to a point where I'm more used to him not being around as much as I'd like him to be."

"Well... I'm always around," Marshall said.

Cream shuddered, turning her head away from him. "Y-You won't be soon..."

"I promise, I'll make sure to swing by as much as I can," Marshall smiled, going over when he heard her shuddering. "And plus, we can video chat, text, phone call... heck, I'll get a carrier pigeon if it comes to it."

The rabbit giggled at that, noticing how close Marshall was. She leaned against him and hugged him. Shocked, the tall fox hugged back, his height making him tower over her and the hug easier due to his reach. He even lifted his tail around them for extra warmth, making Cream blush.

"Look," Marshall said, letting the hug go, with Cream taking longer to stop. "I'll be fine. Tails will be fine. You'll be fine. We have been so far, okay? I know that this new killer situation has us all worried, but it's not up to us to take care of it."

"I know," Cream said, wiping her cheeks from their tears. "But... I don't like being left alone all the time... I just don't want you or Tails to get hurt..."

Marshall nodded. "We'll be okay, like I said. Tails is tough, and smart. He can look after himself."

Cream nodded. "S-So can you..." she said, looking up at him. "How are you so tall for a Mobian?"

Marshall shrugged. "Good genes, I guess?"

Cream smiled. "Any other news?"

"Uh... yeah, actually," Marshall said. "I got a call from Cosmo. Us and some friends are going to chill at the lake, have a nice, campfire night."

"So, a party?" Cream asked.

"Yes," Marshall replied. "But no booze. Maybe no weed, but I can't be sure of that."

"You know that you shouldn't be smoking that..." Cream said, sniffing. "You were doing it just now, weren't you?"

"Um..." Marshall coughed a bit. "I might have been..."

"Why?" Cream asked.

"Well... I couldn't get that nightmare out of my head," Marshall said. "Even with the sleeping pills to help, I still woke up today with that... image..."

"What was it?" Cream pressed. "What was so bad that you turned to drugs to help you? And this early in the day too?"

"It was... about you and Tails..." Marshall sighed, barely able to breathe it out. "I was trapped in some creepy place, and... you and him..."

"Please... say no more..." Cream said. "I worry about that enough on my own. I don't need you having nightmares about it."

"I don't know why," said Marshall, "but I've been having weird hallucinations. I... think... maybe it's college stress..."

"No... it can't be that," Cream replied. "You... you can't think about backing out. Not after yesterday, not after how far you've come!"

"It doesn't mean that I can't get stressed!" said Marshall. "I'm not going to back out, okay? I just... I don't know! I'm sick of not knowing if I belong there! Week off to learn or not, I really don't know!"

"You shouldn't worry about what people might say!" Cream said. "Is it just because of your powers? Are you worried for other reasons?"

"Like what?" Marshall asked. "My sexual orientation? My ethnicity? My height? Because I'm not, okay? You taught me early on to not let others get to me, and I didn't."

"So, what? You got to yourself?"

"I... I guess I did..." Marshall said. He calmed down and sat on one of the chairs in the living room. "Maybe... maybe it doesn't matter how hard I worked, or because of my lack of powers... maybe people will judge me the same there... calling me faggot, queer, and all that shit that should have been squashed out long ago..."

Cream cringed a bit. "It's weird to hear you swear..." she admitted. "You don't do it much."

Marshall nodded. "I know. But... I had to get that one out of me."

Cream sat down next to him. "Listen... they won't judge you. I know for a fact that colleges are more accepting and diverse than high schools can be." She put a hand on his shoulder. "Who knows? Maybe at college, you won't have to worry about high school bullies because you'll be better than them."

"I don't want to be better than them," Marshall said. "I just want to improve myself. Keep working hard, prove that I belong where I am. I mean... I don't know. I guess that I should worry less about the risks. I'm worried about being called those things, and about being lynched because I'm powerless. It's not a secret that I don't have my abilities, and depending on who knows that, that could be really bad for me."

Cream smiled. "Well, it's like Mighty said, if you're worried about it at college, we can keep paying for more free weeks."

Marshall nodded. "I know. And I doubt that anyone will be mean on the training week, because there might not be many people there." He cocked his head. "I wonder what the exercises would be?"

Cream giggled, causing Marshall to look at her. "Sorry..." she said. "You look kinda cute with your head up and to the side like that."

"Oh... um... thank you..." Marshall said, looking back at her. "I'm sorry for yelling and stuff. I've been letting things get to me too much."

Cream smiled. "Like I said, it's fine." She touched his arm lightly. "So, Cosmo invited you out, huh?"

"Yeah," Marshall nodded. "She's going to come over and pick me up about 9, I think. Or that's when the party starts."

"Probably when it starts," Cream smiled. "The lake's not far, right?"

"Nah," Marshall said. "It's maybe a mile east of my high school, so it's easy to get to."

"Ah, right," Cream nodded. "So, you're going to be safe, right?"

Marshall did a double take. "You're... you're letting me go? Even after what I said?"

"You were getting something bad off your chest," said Cream. "It's not like you were insulting me in any way." She smiled. "Look, I get it. Transitioning from high school to college is really not easy. Just because you don't know your powers yet doesn't make you any less special, okay?"

Marshall smiled. "Thank you, Cream. It... means a lot..."

The rabbit smiled. "It's no trouble. Just please be careful, okay? You really only know Cream there."

Marshall nodded. "I know. Hopefully I'll get to know her friends as well. But, then again, she just said friends. Could be people that we both know."

"Who can say?" Cream shrugged. "Anyway, you go and get yourself ready. I have some baking to do, and you can't be here for it."

"A surprise?" Marshall asked.

"Yep," Cream giggled. "But it can wait until you get back from your party."

"Is it something sweet? Like you?" Marshall said.

"Aw... stop it!" Cream blushed. "To answer, yes. But I won't tell any more than that."

"Then I shall not pry," Marshall smiled. "All right, I'll go chill. If there's anything you need help with, just give me a shout, okay?"

"Will do," Cream said.

Marshall gave her a hug before going upstairs. He went back to his bedroom, and waited out the rest of the day, filling his time by studying or playing video games. He even spent some time with Cream to watch some TV shows with her and just hang out together, sharing laughter and such.

Soon, night was setting in, and Marshall was just out of the shower. He sprayed deodorant on himself, then decided to get changed, wanting to dress nicely for the party. He grabbed a black tank top basketball jersey with white writing on it, wearing a stylish grey striped button up shirt over it, leaving the buttons open, and to finish the look, he added some dark blue jeans and black sneakers.

"Ah... that looks good," he smiled.

"Marshall! Cosmo's here!" Cream called.

Marshall gave himself one last glance over before going downstairs, seeing Cosmo at the door, talking to Cream. Marshall shot the plant girl a smile, who smiled back. Cream moved out the way for them, and Marshall saw Cream's clothes for the night.

Like the fox, Cosmo had gone for a more stylish look as well. She wore blue jean shorts over black leggings, which ended in brown boots. Up top, her leather jacket covered a dark pink halter top, and even her makeup looked different, adding some more shades of blue.

"Wow..." Marshall said. "You look... just... wow..."

Cosmo giggled. "You look pretty wow yourself."

Cream giggled at the two. "Oh, it's so nice to see you two getting along!"

"That reminds me," Marshall said, "where are the others?"

"Oh, they're in the car," Cosmo said, turning to wave.

Marshall looked and recognised some of them, mostly three birds named Jet, Wave, and Storm, also called the Babylon crew. He also saw an echidna named Tikal too, and a lynx who he knew as Nicole. He was good friends with her, mostly because they helped each other out a lot in IT classes, with Nicole having a knack for computer programming.

"Ah, Nicole's there," Marshall smiled. "Hi, Nicole!"

"Hi!" the lynx waved back.

Cosmo smiled. "So, you all ready to go?"

Marshall padded himself down, making sure that he had his phone before nodding. "Oh, wait..." He turned to give Cream a huge hug, who returned it. When it broke, Marshall nodded. "Okay, now I'm all ready."

He grabbed a jacket and slipped it on as he left the house with Cosmo to head to the car, Cream waving as she watched him leave. "Be safe out there! And have fun!"

"We will!" said Cosmo. "Don't worry! I'll make sure that he stays out of trouble!"

"Hey, come on," Marshall pouted playfully, before smirking. "Thanks for asking me to come."

"It's no trouble," Cosmo said as they reached the car.

"Hey there, college boy," Jet smiled, high-fiving the fox. "You ready to party?"

"I will be when we get there," Marshall chuckled, hopping into the car with Cosmo. "I do wonder how so many people can fit in here, though."

"Eh, I fixed this one up," Wave said. "It is my car, after all."

"That does explain why you're in the driver's seat," Marshall smiled.

Cosmo blushed. "When I learn to drive, I'll pick you up myself. I promise."

Marshall held her hand. "It's fine," he said, shooting her a disarming smile.

Cosmo smiled back. "All right, let's get going."

Wave nodded, pulling out of the driveway, seeing Cream still on the porch. She waved, and the others joined too as Cream waved back. Soon, Wave pulled out completely, starting her drive to the lake.

"So... you excited for college?" Storm asked Marshall.

"Uh, yeah," Marshall replied. "Before I speak, does anyone else here have their powers?"

They all raised their hands, with Nicole speaking first. "Are you asking because of what the college offers?"

"What do they offer?" Tikal asked.

"A free week for new students going there to try and learn powers if they don't know them yet," said Cosmo. "And there's nothing wrong with Marshall wanting to take that class," she added, smiling and winking at him.

Marshall smiled. "Thank you. But, yeah, I don't know my powers, so to those in this car not going to college despite having your powers, I'm sorry. Please don't hold it against me. I do plenty of that myself."

Cosmo put her hand on his. "Come on, tonight isn't the night to think about that. Let's just go and have some fun, okay?"

Marshall nodded, and Wave carried on the drive, soon passing by the same spot with the trees as always, but Marshall pad it no mind this time. Soon, Wave had driven them up past the school and to the lake, seeing no other cars there.

"Looks like we made it," Wave said.

"So, what's the plan?" asked Marshall as they all got out.

"Get some wood and light a fire," said Jet. "We got some hot chocolate in flasks and thermoses, just in case."

"And I got the marshmallows," Cosmo said, pulling the bag from her pocket. "We all got our phones, yeah?"

Tikal checked everyone over and gave a confirming nod. "Yep, we're all good!"

"All right, some of us will hang back," said Storm. "The rest can go and get some twigs."

"It won't take long," said Marshall, getting his phone out and turning it on. "Got this baby fully charged." He then got a call and saw that it was Cream, and he smiled. "Hey there."

"Hey, Marshall! Just checking that you made it okay," the rabbit's voice said on the other side.

"Yeah, we're all good," Marshall said. "Just going to get some wood for a fire and such."

"Ah, okay," Cream said. "Just remember to make it back safely, okay? I've got a surprise for you."

Marshall smiled. "I will. See you later, okay?"

"Bye," Cream said, hanging up.

Marshall did too, turning to face the others. "So, who's coming with to get the firewood?"

"I will," said Tikal.

"Me too," said Storm. "Three's a good enough party, right?"

"Yeah, it's good," said Marshall.

"Actually," Cosmo said, "how about you two hang back? Me and Marshall can go together."

Tikal looked between the two and nodded. "All right."

Marshall blushed a bit, but nodded at Cosmo. "You sure about this?"

"Oh, I'm pretty sure," Cosmo smiled.

"All right, you guys try not to get lost," said Storm, walking back with Tikal.

Marshall smiled and held Cosmo's hand as they walked more into the forest near the lake, with Marshall using his phone to light the way. He found a good bundle of sticks by one of the trees, walking over to them and handing his phone to Cosmo to hold.

"Just hang on to it. I might not get all this wood back with just one hand," the fox reasoned. He went over, guided by his phone's light, and picked up the sticks. "That should do it... let's head back."

Marshall turned around, but before he could move, he was pushed against the tree by Cosmo, causing him to drop the sticks. Cosmo leaned up and kissed Marshall deeply, who took a chance and kissed back, holding her close and using his tail to keep her in place.

The heated kiss soon broke, Marshall's phone having fallen on the floor in the embrace, and Cosmo smiled. "Sorry... I just..." She looked away.

"What is it?" Marshall asked.

"I... wanted to be here... but only with you..." Cosmo said. "I wanted a moment alone with you..."

"So... why aren't we alone?" Marshall asked.

"I got a call from Nicole, and sort of spilled the beans, and we thought it'd be best to invite more people," Cosmo admitted. "I'm sorry. I... wanted to give..."

"What?" Marshall asked.

"My... virginity..." Cosmo squeaked. "I wanted to give that to you tonight..."

Marshall blushed. "I'd be losing mine too... and I want it to be to you..." he said, holding her hands in his own.

"Maybe not tonight... but before you go to college..." Cosmo said. "Or... we could both go together..."

"I'd like that," Marshall smiled.

"Yo!" Jet called. The light from his phone was seen as he walked over, and Cosmo and Marshall broke apart quickly. "You guys okay out here?"

"Yeah," said Marshall. "Just gathering some sticks."

"Oh," Jet said, pointing. "There's a big pile around you. Try those."

"I-I got that," Marshall nodded. "We'll be back over in a bit."

Jet nodded, turning to walk away. Marshall sighed, picking the sticks back up and walking with Cosmo back to the others. They soon made it there, noticing that everyone was sat in a small circle, and seeing that Wave was going through her phone, looking a bit frustrated.

"What's the problem?" Cosmo asked.

"Trying to find a good song to start the party off," Wave said. "Most of my stuff is too upbeat. We need something a bit smoother for the night."

"I've got some stuff on my phone," Marshall said.

"I'll look for ti while you start the fire," said Cosmo, kissing the fox's cheek.

Marshall smiled and nodded, putting the twigs in a pile on the ground. He then grabbed two of them, rubbing them together and striking hard a few times before some sparks started, the pile soon erupting with a small flame, much to the happiness of everyone.

"Nicely done!" said Nicole. "Where'd you learn that?"

"Oh, Tails showed me once when I was younger," Marshall said, taking his own seat as Cosmo gave him his phone back. "He was doing a survival class for a grade at the station, and I asked him what he had to do, so he showed me this."

Cosmo smiled. "Tails really is a good guy."

Marshall nodded. "Yeah. Just... wish he was around more..."

"He's busy, right?" asked Tikal. "He has that awful serial killer to find."

"Who knows?" Jet asked. "That creepy-ass killer could be out there right now, watching us."

"Come on, there's no need for that," Cosmo said. "Tails could be out there too, looking out for that killer. He'll bring him to justice for what he's done."

Jet held his hands up. "I was just playing around. Come on, let's get some grub on the go."

Cosmo shook her head a bit before getting the marshmallows and handing them out once everyone had sticks ready. They skewered the tasty treats, hovering them over the fire until they were warm enough before eating them, enjoying the food.

"You know, marshmallows could be a great survival food," said Wave. "They taste good and go well with fire."

"If you want marshmallows to last that long, they'd best be canned," said Nicole. "Beans would be the best food. The only reason that they have a best by date is because the companies behind them want to sell more. Truth is, they could last decades after their date expires."

"Ooh... does that mean that we could all have hot-dogs if an apocalypse hits us?" asked Jet.

"Only the sausages. The buns might not be any good by that point," said Marshall, smiling.

"Of course, the smartest guy here answers that the quickest," the green hawk chuckled, toasting another marshmallow. "Still, that's why you're off to college soon. We're going to miss you, man."

"Yeah... it'll suck without you, especially with me taking that free week. I don't know if I'll see less or more of you," the tall fox shrugged.

"The fact is, you got there on your own terms," said Cosmo, putting her hand over Marshall's. "You're going to do great."

"I hope so..." Marshall said. "Huh... I wonder how it'll affect my schedule."

"For your therapy sessions and for church?" asked Wave.

"Yeah," Marshall said with a nod. "Usually, those take place later in a day, so I'm fine with that part of it. But I don't know how crazy my schedule will be."

"Well, maybe it won't be so bad," said Nicole. "They have technology, right? Like phones and stuff? Maybe you could video call with them or text?"

"Yeah, maybe..." said Marshall.

Jet sighed. "Look, that's for then. Tonight is for now, okay? Everyone, raise your flasks with me." The others did so, and Jet cleared his throat. "Marshall the fox, tall and fuzzy as he is, is more than just that. He's worked hard, done his best to get through school, and has shown nothing but honesty to us all. In fact, I'm convinced that there might not be a bad bone in his entire body. With that said, good luck at college, man."

Marshall smiled. "Hear, hear!"

They all drank some of their hot cocoa, smiling at the taste, with Wave especially proud of how she made it. Cosmo was about to open more marshmallows when she heard some mocking laughter, turning to see an unfriendly face.

"Oh, no..." said Cosmo.

Marshall turned too, grimacing. "Hyder..."

"Hey there, you nerds!" said Hyder, sounding partially slurred. "What... what's brings you here?"

"We're here for Marshall," said Jet. "Go be a drunk waste of space somewhere else."

Hyder stumbled closer, summoning several clones of himself, all as drunk as he was. Regrettably, Hyder pulled them back. "I'm not g-going anywhere until you fucks explain how this... this... fox bitch here got to go to college. What... what the fuck can he do? What's he got that I don't."

"A good personality, fluff for days, a big brain, and at the moment, sobriety," said Cosmo, defending the fox proudly. "Just turn around and go home, Hyder. I'll call you a cab, okay?"

"I don't want a fucking cab!" Hyder said, lurching forward. He grabbed Cosmo, grinning. "You... very pretty..."

Marshall stood, walking over. "Hey, that's en-"

Hyder pulled out a gun from his pocket, waving it at the fox. "I wouldn't get too c-close if I were me... I mean, you..."

"Hey, there's no need for any violence," said Marshall, holding his hands up. He saw some light from the corner of his eye, turning to see the others, sans Cosmo, were using their phones in some way or another. "Just put the gun down, and we'll talk, okay?"

"What's there to talk about?" Hyder asked. "You... you don't deserve to go to college. Especially one that fancy. You... have done nothing... to earn your place."

"He worked his ass off," Cosmo spat. "All you did was bully him and call him names. This may come as a shock to you, but that's not what gets you good grades."

"I would get good grades if this little faggot ever did my homework for me," said Hyder. "Not once, though. He's either really brave or just stupid as fuck."

"Or too smart to put up with your crap," Marshall said. He looked at Hyder's wrists, using the faint glow of one of the phones behind him to see some bandages there. "Dude, just put the gun down. We can get you help."

"Help? W-Why do you want to help me?" asked Hyder. "I don't deserve your help. I don't want it or need it."

"So, how'd that stuff on your wrists happen? Accident?" Marshall asked. He sighed, pulling up his own sleeves to show some faint scarring on his arms. "I've been there, dude. Trust me... I know how it feels. That place... it's hard to come back from..."

"I guess when... I call you names... that can make things bad..." Hyder admitted, slowly putting the gun down.

"It did," said Marshall. "But therapy made things better. I can get you the help that you need."

Hyder thought about protesting, but instead dropped the gun harmlessly to the ground, giving Cosmo an apologetic hug. To his everyone's surprise, Cosmo hugged back, and as soon as it broke, Hyder fell to the floor, crying.

"Sorry... I'm so... so sorry..."

Marshall went over, lifting Hyder to his feet. The jackal hugged Marshall, but as he did, he threw up, causing it to land down Marshall's back. The fox shuddered and looked uneasy himself, but held it in as he took off his shirt.

"I really like this jacket too..." he said. "Well, I guess that this party's over."

"Sorry, guys..." Hyder said. "I... ugh..."

"Say," Jet said, "where did you get that gun?"

"My dad keeps one in his drawer just in case," said Hyder. "I stole it..."

Marshall reached and picked the gun up, putting it in Hyder's jacket. "Try to keep it under wraps when you get back home."

"Why?"

"Well, I'm going to take a wild swing and guess that your dad hurts you in some way," Marshall said.

"He... he does... but only when he's really drunk... or when I really fuck up badly..."

"And does he cut you?"

"N-No..." said Hyder. "That... that's all me..."

The fox nodded. "All right, we can sort through this. We'll send you back home, and things will be okay. But you have to get some help, okay?"

"I'll... t-try..." Hyder nodded.

"So, what's the plan?" asked Wave.

"We drive Hyder back home first," said Marshall. "Something tells me that his parents don't know that he's missing. Or drunk."

Wave nodded, using her coffee to put out the fire. "Well, come on. Everyone in the car."

"What about Marshall's jacket?" asked Storm. "It'd be bad to have that stinking up the car."

Marshall sighed. "I'll just put it in the trunk or something, and I'll clean it when I'm back home."

"We have a lake right there, dude," said Storm, pointing to the water.

"True, but said lake is beautiful and probably leads to the water that we get in our homes, and I won't want to ruin that."

"All right, fine," said Wave, getting frustrated. "Let's just go."

The others nodded, heading over to the purple swallow's car. She opened the back for Marshall to put his jacket in, and soon, the car was filled up, now with one more person than they arrived at the lake with. As promised, they dropped Hyder off first, lucky that his mother answered and his father was too drunk to be awake.

They made their way for Marshall's house next, and surprisingly, they saw Tails' car waiting out front. Marshall sighed as he left the car, going to the back to get his jacket, seeing that the puke had dried. As he grabbed it, Cosmo joined him.

"So... sorry about tonight..." she said.

"Eh, it wasn't your fault," said Marshall. "Like I said earlier, you didn't have control over who joined."

"Well, I did," Cosmo shrugged. "I just didn't want to be rude."

Marshall chuckled. "It's still not your fault. But... I'll be thinking about that kiss for a long time. I liked it."

"I did too..." Cosmo blushed. "I never had one that passionate before..."

"Neither did I. But I enjoyed it a lot," Marshall blushed in reply. "Thank you for giving that to me, even if the rest of the night didn't turn out as well as we hoped."

Cosmo giggled. "No trouble. You'd best get back inside."

The fox nodded, leaning down to kiss Cosmo. She smiled and kissed back, this one a bit lighter than their embrace in the forest, but both still felt the same level of care for each other. It broke, they said their goodbyes, and Marshall entered his house, waving goodbye as Cosmo got back in the car and was driven away.

"Tails? Cream?" Marshall called.

"Kitchen!" Tails called out.

Marshall came out to the kitchen, seeing Tails and Cream sat at the table, sharing a chocolate ice-cream Oreo cake. The fox smiled and sat with them, hugging them both and being careful about his jacket as Tails sniffed.

"Is that... vomit?" asked Tails.

"It's not mine," Marshall rushed to say. "It was Hyder..."

"What was Hyder doing there?" Cream asked.

"He... he was drunk," said Marshall. "I don't know how he found us, but he was hammered, and he..."

"He... what?" Tails pressed.

"He... had a gun..."

"A gun?" Tails said, his eyes wide.

"Oh, no..." Cream muttered, putting her hands over her mouth.

"Nobody got hurt!" said Marshall. "I mean, I almost did, but he was way too drunk and depressed to do anything."

"That doesn't change the fact that you lied," Tails said. "You promised Cream that you'd be safe, and you weren't!"

"Nobody got killed or hurt!" said Marshall. "I'd count that as pretty safe! Besides, you didn't see what I saw!"

"What, you want me to feel sympathy for Hyder?" asked Tails. "Why should I?"

Marshall turned his wrist to show the faded scars. "Because he does the same thing that I used to do. During our struggle, I saw bandages on his wrists, fresh ones at that. He needs help."

"Help?" Tails said. "A sick bully like him doesn't deserve help! After all that he's done to you through the years! All the names, the fights, the pranks... you're going to forgive him at the drop of a hat?"

"Of course I'm not going to just forgive him!" said Marshall. "But I've been where he was!"

"You've only been there because he put you there!" Tails said.

"And when he did, where were you?!" Marshall asked angrily. "All those times I needed you, you weren't there! You did what you're doing now! You were off solving cases that were way too dangerous because you didn't know how to handle the problems of those closest to you!"

"Who do you think is paying for your therapy?" the two tailed fox asked.

"Well, who do you think told me to get therapy in the first place?" the taller fox retorted. "When I was at that low point, Cream was there. She took me to therapy on my first day. She's usually busy herself, but she makes time for me. She even makes time for you when you can't even do the same for her!"

Tails shook his head. "Just... just put your jacket in the washing machine, and we'll get it cleaned."

"What? You're not going to fight me on that?"

"Marshall..." Cream said softly. "Just do as he says..."

Marshall nodded, sighing and putting the jacket into the washer, thankful that there was no other laundry to get tainted. Marshall then sat back down, looking back and forth over Cream and Tails before clearing his throat.

"Um... thank you, Cream," Marshall said. "My... my favourite cake."

"It's for you getting into college," Tails said. "That, and we got you an extra special little something."

"What's that?" Marshall asked.

Cream, lightening up and smiling, spoke up. "Well, because you won't have a dorm at college just yet during your week off to learn your powers, we got you an apartment. It's close to the college."

It was then that Tails pulled out a set of keys, sliding them across the table for Marshall to catch. "You... you mean it?"

"Yeah," Tails nodded. "You're... you're a man now, Marshall. You've grown up, worked hard, and stayed true to yourself. We can't take that away from you, so why not reward it instead?"

"Do... do I even deserve this?" Marshall asked. "I mean, after what just happened?"

Tails sighed. "It's not a huge issue. Don't worry about it," he smiled.

Marshall suddenly stood up and hugged Tails tightly. The yellow fox was shocked at first, but he soon returned it. Marshall then hugged Cream with the same energy that he'd just shown Tails, before sitting back down giddily.

"I'm... I don't... know what to say..." Marshall said, struggling to find the words.

"Just a word of thanks will do," Tails teased.

"Thank you both... so much..." Marshall said.

"How about we do him one better?" Cream asked. "You can take your cake upstairs, if you want?"

"Yeah, sounds good," Tails smiled. "We'll all have a slice and put the rest in the fridge."

"Thank you..." Marshall said again, taking his cake. He stopped to give Tails and Cream kisses on the cheek before heading upstairs.

He entered his bedroom, kicking his shoes off before sitting down at his computer. It wasn't long before he found the "Keepsakes" folder, starting up another word document to write in there, putting his almost finished piece of cake aside to make writing easier.

"Keepsake number 90," Marshall said. "Man... I didn't think that I'd make it this far. Either for these keepsakes or for what's happening to me. I'm actually going to go to college, and I just found out that I'm getting my own place that's close to it. It might be temporary before I get a dorm, but the fact is that I have my own apartment."

He spaced out the paragraph. "And if that apartment needs someone to share rent with... I'd like it to be Cosmo. We kissed twice tonight. And she admitted that she wanted me alone... but I won't go further than that. It's ungentlemanly of me. Still, she is... so perfect. I... I love her. I honestly love her. Still, it's a shame what would wind up happening."

Another paragraph. "So, I was at the lake for a party with my friends. Just a good old campfire, with songs, coffee, and marshmallows. But then Hyder showed up, drunk out of his mind. He threatened us with a gun, but I calmed him down. I saw cuts on his wrists. Well, I saw bandages, but it doesn't take long to figure that one out. I told him to get help, and I even hugged him. He threw up on me, but that's mostly because he was drunk."

Marshall paused briefly before continuing. "And then I got back home, finding that Cream had made my favourite cake. Chocolate ice-cream Oreo cake... it tasted so good. We all had a slice, and when I was explaining what happened at the party, Tails started to call me out, and I tried to diffuse it, but it didn't work. I don't want us to shout at each other so much. I just want him to stick around more, especially with big things happening for me. Is that... selfish? Or is it okay to be a bit selfish in this case?" He paused again. "I guess I'll never know. My name is Marshall, and this is my keepsake."

He then went to save the document into the "Keepsakes" folder, and as he did, he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He crept to his bedroom door and cracked it open to see Cream going to hers and Tails' bedroom, albeit alone. Marshall looked around for Tails, but didn't hear him, instead catching a glimpse of light from the corner of his eye.

"What the heck?" Marshall went to check his bedroom window, seeing Tails driving off in his police car, the red and blue lights standing out in the darkening night. Marshall quickly went to shut his laptop down before laying back in his bed. "It's okay. Just... let it go..." He stayed in bed, keeping his eyes closed and trying to rest before sighing. "I... I have to know..." He went to put his shoes back on, grabbing a hoodie too, and he walked to his bedroom window. "Here goes nothing..."

* * *

 **And it's done! Another chapter, and the longest of the story! I hope you enjoyed it, even though it was more emotional than what I normally write. I'll see you soon for Love And War, then more Foxhunt after, where something big will happen... I hope. Take care, and stay tuned.**


	6. Two Trees

Marshall carefully opened his bedroom window, looking down at the ground below. He was silently grateful that he didn't have to worry about his tail letting him fly since, thanks to his old tree-house, he had learned some climbing skills over the years.

He looked down to see some white fence grating that he could use to scale down, with some foliage adorning the edges of it. Carefully, he started to climb down the side of the house, shutting the window behind him and making it looked as locked as he could manage.

He kept moving down, inch by inch, using his tail as well to help him keep his balance. He soon reached the bottom, his feet landing softly on the grass. He quickly made his way to the shed, being as silent as he could be.

He tried to open the door, but remembered that it was locked with a combination. Marshall hadn't used the shed often, and each time that he ever did gardening, it was with the help of others, and the lock was always undone by someone else.

The tall brown fox thought it over in his head before getting an idea, since it was a four number combination lock. "Let's see... six... seven... nine... nine?"

To his surprise, it worked. Marshall, using the light from his phone to look inside, soon found what he was looking for: A black and silver bicycle with sporty looking neon green stripes. He carefully brought it out of the shed before shutting the wooden door itself, attaching the lock again.

Marshall then mounted his bike, reminding himself to put on the helmet that was attached to one of the handlebars still, and walked out of the garden with it, opening a door that connected the garden to a small alleyway that led to the front porch. He was soon where he needed to be, looking around at the lights of the night, a mixture of the stars in the sky and the streetlamps on the ground.

"Okay... here it goes..."

And so, he started off on his bike ride, unsure of how far he would need to go to get to where he wanted to be.

* * *

 **Meanwhile, with Tails...**

West Mobius Police Department was a good example of rundown but still in good care. It looked old and beat up, but it was functional, held a lot of offices and officers, and was a well-established name, mostly thanks to its hard working ethic.

"Dammit..." the two-tailed fox said as he looked around his office. He looked at a board which had several clippings, headings, and so on connected to each other with red string, which was pinned down with drawing pins.

"I just don't get the obsession with this," said Honey the cat, who was his main partner. "Maybe the X Killer really does go for random people?"

"I can't buy that," said Tails. "The interconnection between them just isn't loose enough to fall apart completely. There has to be something there..."

"What about previous victims?" asked Honey.

"That's the weird thing," Tails said. "We know less about them and more about the more recent victims, and even that's not all that much."

Honey sighed. "Well, how about I get us both some coffee, and we have a sit down, okay? We can just chill and have a chat."

Tails nodded. "That actually sounds amazing right now."

The cat nodded, leaving the office and nodding politely at some other passing officers as she made it to the coffee machine. She got two foam cups, filling them both with the hot beverage and adding some milk and sugar too before returning to Tails, handing him one of the cups.

"Ah, thank you," the yellow fox smiled, sipping it as he sat down. "So, what did you want to chat about?"

"You know who. Tall, cute, brown, and has a huge tail," Honey giggled.

Tails smiled. "Want an update, right?"

"Well, I'm not his guidance counsellor or anything, but you're my main partner on the force, so it wouldn't hurt."

Tails smiled again. "Well, he's going to college."

"Really?" The cat grinned. "That's amazing!"

"Yep!" Tails nodded. "He's worked hard, and he's... finally going."

"What... what's the matter?"

"Well, he's worried that he'll get scrutinised there because of him not knowing his powers," Tails said. "That and his bisexuality, the fact that he's adopted... poor kid has a lot to worry about."

"Yeah... that is a lot to weigh down on you for college," Honey agreed.

"Exactly. So, he's going to be taking a free week at the college to try and learn what his power is," Tails said. "If he doesn't learn, we can keep paying to send him back if need be."

"Would that be hard?" asked Honey. "I mean, with the therapist to pay off too?"

"Usually, yes, but since the days of the free week end at the same time as normal high schools do, he can still get to his therapy sessions when he needs to."

"Ah, that's good," Honey smiled. "Did anything else happen?"

Tails nodded, letting out a stressed sigh. "Yeah. Earlier tonight, he went for a party with his friends at the lake, but they got followed by that Hyder guy."

"Oh, him..."

"And he waved a gun around at them," Tails continued. "Drunk out of his mind."

"Jesus, really?" Honey said, her eyes wide. "Nobody got hurt, did they?"

"No, but Marshall did get some vomit on his jacket," Tails said. "And he made a pretty disturbing discovery."

"Do I want to know?" Honey asked.

"Probably not," Tails replied. "And those of your species don't usually have the best of luck with curiosity."

The yellow cat giggled. "All right, hit me."

"Well... Hyder wasn't just drunk. He was depressed, and he cut himself," Tails said. "Marshall saw some bandages on his wrists, so he put two and two together."

"Whoa..." Honey said. "I mean, knowing how mean Hyder has been, that's... quite a surprise."

"Yeah... it's not a great image to think of."

"So, what are you going to do?"

Tails shrugged. "Hope that his parents let him seek therapy. Or maybe just one of them. If it's a cycle of abuse, then there's a chance that one of Hyder's parents cares for him, and the other one... maybe not so much."

"Do you think we should talk to them?" asked Honey. "You know, just in case?"

Tails grunted. "I don't know. I mean, you know all of the mean stuff that Hyder has said and done to Marshall. So, I don't much care for Hyder. But I do want him to get help." Tails pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "We'll get to that when we get to it."

"I guess so," Honey nodded.

Tails then felt his phone vibrate, checking it to see a message. "It's the morgue. They've got some new info. Let's go."

Honey nodded, walking with Tails down to the basement floor and heading for the morgue with him. The mortician was a human named Noam, who was tall and thin, with light grey facial hair and darkened head hair which was trimmed at the sides and styled nicely.

"Glad you could make it," he said. "Just got some new information out of victim three, which is impressive considering that he's been dead for a while."

Tails stifled a chuckle. "What is it."

"Cause of death appears to be head wounds," said Noam. "Just like the past two. But this time, it was a screwdriver driven threw the back of the skull."

"Who was the victim?" asked Honey.

"The victim was Destin, and he was Gareth's boyfriend," said the mortician. "It only further confirms the link between the killings. They're related, both loosely and by blood."

"Do we have anything on the other two?" asked Tails.

Noam nodded. "Carlita's cause of death was a bullet to the brain, as you already know. The gun was a small revolver, judging by the shape of the bullet. A 357 magnum, most likely."

"Not the biggest gun in the world," Tails pointed out. "But I guess that bullet size doesn't matter when it enters your brain."

"What about the second victim?" Honey carried on.

"Ah, yes. Gareth, Carlita's brother, Destin's boyfriend, died from blunt force wounds," Noam said. "Judging from the impact, it looks like something was wrapped around the side of his head. The ridges attached point to a long metallic object of some kind, maybe a steel pipe or rod."

"So, they were all killed by wounds to the head of varying degrees," Tails said. "Do we have anything else?"

Noam nodded, walking over to Destin's body to turn the head to the right. "A big old X right behind his left ear, there. I get the feeling that that's important."

"Was it on the other victims too?" asked Honey.

"Yeah, but not in the same place," Noam said. "Carlita had one on the inside of her right wrist, and Gareth had one on his bottom lip. For a guy that likes to leave calling cards, this 10 Killer sure does like to pick the most try-hard spots to hide them."

Tails chuckled a bit at that. "These are more recent, right?"

"Yeah, they are," said Noam, nodding. "These new victims all have that same mark somewhere, but when the X Killer first started out, they were nowhere to be seen. It's almost like he wants to be found out."

"You don't think that he just got lazy?" Tails asked.

"Well, that's not for me to decide," Noam said, holding his hands up. "I just look at dead bodies and tell people what I know. I don't like to make dead bodies."

"So... it could be a trap," Honey surmised.

"More than most likely," Tails agreed. "I just wish that I knew what type."

"It's a serial killer," Noam said. "The trap is probably to kill you."

"We'd be the first cops, right?" Tails asked.

"Yep," Noam replied. "But then again, maybe X could be respectful of law enforcement in the weird way that doesn't involve killing them. Just harmless schmucks who didn't deserve it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Tails said. "Anyway, thanks for the help, man."

"No problem," Noam said.

The yellow fox gave a goodbye wave as he and Honey left the room, deciding to go back upstairs to their office. When they got there, Tails got some more sticky notes out to right on, as well as more drawing pins and string to add on to the board.

"There... causes of death for all of the recent victims, their names, and the calling card..." Tails said, satisfied with his work.

"So, now what?" Honey asked.

"Now, I call my son and apologise," Tails said. He pulled out his phone, typing in Marshall's number. He waited, hearing it ring a few times, before stopping after the fifth one. "Huh..." He checked the time on his phone. "Odd."

"What?" Honey asked.

"He usually answers by this point, regardless of his sleep."

"So, are phone calls past midnight commonplace in your household?" Honey grinned.

Tails smiled. "Not usually. To be fair, maybe he's just catching up on some sleep. He has needed it for a while now. He definitely deserves it."

"Well, he's off to college soon," Honey smiled. "It's a big deal for him. I mean, he starts Monday, right?"

"That's right," said Tails. "Two days away now. And he already spent the first day of that weekend almost getting shot."

Honey slapped Tails' arm. "Stop worrying about him. He'll be okay. Let him have his sleep. I mean, you said that he could use it, right?"

"Yeah..." the yellow fox said, his head hanging slightly. "I just hope that he's getting enough, considering the week he's had..."

* * *

 **Back with Marshall...**

The tall fox was riding his bike, the streetlights being his only real guide as he moved. He felt his phone vibrating in his hoodie, looking to see Tails' number, but didn't answer it, instead letting it ring out as he continued to ride.

He kept on riding in silence, stopping at some lights as he waited for the cars to pass. When the lights were green again, Marshall let the car next to him go by first, and as they shared a wave of confirmation, Marshall caught the license plate, seeing that familiar letter that had been plaguing him lately.

"Ugh..." He shook his head, rubbing his eyes over with his hands. "I've got to find the place, and quick..."

He started to pedal again, pushing harder than he was earlier. The silence of the night was more than eerie to him. He saw a window lit up here, a car driving there, but most people were turning in to go to sleep, or do something before going to sleep.

Marshall was doing something too. Just not something that he'd ever thought that he'd wind up doing.

The young fox was continually lost in his thoughts as he kept riding, trying to remember the route to his high school after shaking off his visions again. He regained his composure and headed in what he hoped was the right direction.

"Okay... this has to be the right way..." he told himself. "Man, this is where a GPS would come in handy. But I'd probably get tracked by Tails, and also I usually don't use it when going up this way because I've never really come up here alone before, and now I'm talking to myself, only further proving that I'm crazy..." He hit the brakes on his bike as he pulled over to the curb. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

He slowly climbed off his bike and sat down on a nearby wall. He looked around, rubbing his eyes again and letting out a yawn before taking a few deep breaths in an effort to try and calm himself down. His eyes reopened, and he saw the two trees that he was all too familiar with by this point.

He rubbed his eyes again to make sure that it wasn't another hallucination, and when they opened up again, the trees were still there. "Well, I'll be..." He quickly hopped back up onto his bike and rode over without any hindrance, seeing the trees.

He quickly slid to a stop when he saw the yellow police tape surrounding it, as well as a faint outline of a flashlight, followed by a sound of a warbled sounding voice coming in through a shoulder radio. Marshall quickly slid off his bike and stayed low, trying not to get caught out.

"Yeah, still patrolling. Tails has me on some bullshit mission here..." The cop said, his voice sounding gravelly and tired. "I know... my shift's just about up. All right, I'll be back soon. Later. Over and out."

The transmission then stopped, and Marshall stayed frozen in place as he looked up to see the police bike not too far away from him. Marshall stepped backwards in an attempt to creak away, but wound up kicking a rock a few inches away. Given how silent the night was, the little noise was amplified, and the cop stopped what he was doing to come out from the alleyway, torch in hand.

"Hello?" he asked. He turned the corner to see Marshall knelt down next to his bike and holding his ankle. He moved to check on the fox, using his torch to help. "Are you okay, kid?"

"Yeah... I'm fine..." Marshall said. "Just had a slip-up on my bike..."

"What happened?" the cop asked. "You know it's dangerous at night, right? Why are you riding your bike around at this time?"

"Wanted some fresh air," Marshall said, hoping that his lie would hold up. "You investigating that killer dude?"

"You know about him?"

"Yeah... he's pretty bad news, from what I know," Marshall said.

"Then you shouldn't be out at night." The cop sighed. "Just go home, kid. I can give you a lift, if you want?"

"Nah," Marshall said. "I got myself here, I can get myself back. I know the way. Thanks for the offer, though."

"All right, you take care," the cop said. "I've got to head home anyway, so... hopefully I won't catch you doing this sort of thing again. If you know the kind of danger that's out here, especially late at night, then stay at home, okay?"

"I'll keep that in mind," Marshall nodded.

The cop nodded in reply before turning to head back to his bike. Marshall did the same, going to pick his up and keeping up his slight limp as he stumbled away, holding his bike next to him as he rounded the building. He quickly stepped around it, hoping that he was out of sight by that point, and he waited for the cop's bike to take off.

After the engine roared into gear, Marshall could feel the wheels scraping on the concrete as the officer drove away. After about twenty seconds, the brown fox peaked his head around the corner to see that the cop was gone. Doing another quick look around, he moved forward once again, this time actually being just behind he yellow tape.

He put his bike to one side and stepped over it as opposed to under it, his height being the cause of that. He pulled out his phone and used the light to look around. He saw a chalk outline, which he recognised as that of the last victim, whose name Marshall mulled over in his head.

"Gareth... wait..." He pulled his phone out, focusing it on the outline, but he soon looked at the broader scale of the ground, seeing more leaves. Some had been cleared out for the crime scene, possibly to make the coroner's job easier.

He kept the light on his phone switched on, looking around with its guidance. He remembered to activate the camera function, thinking that he'd best take some pictures of what he saw, just in case he thought that it'd help.

He started with the chalk outline, getting shots of the whole body as well as individual parts of it. He turned to face the two trees, seeing them up close for the first time. The light from the streets didn't do it justice, nor did his camera light, but Marshall had to admit that there was a degree of menace to it that he couldn't deny. More for himself, he took a picture of it.

He then kept going around it all, taking pictures of the more obscure patches of leaves, as well as more of the trees, noticing some strange scratches and patterns here and there. Eventually, he focused again on the chalk outline, where the body once was, and looked next to the head.

A few nights prior, Marshall looked up several photos from a new article in regards to the recent string of murders. During that time, he'd had a hallucination that he'd seen something next to Gareth's head that he didn't think he'd seen before. This time, he wasn't hallucinating.

"It's really there..." Marshall said. He looked right at the X-shaped blood splatter on one of the leaves. He reached down to touch it, and as dry as it was, some of it rubbed off onto his fingers, and he gasped. "It's... it's really here..." He remembered to keep his voice down before he got too loud.

He checked over the bloody leaf again, and took a quick picture of it to capture the moment. With that done, Marshall looked around, going over to the trees. But as he moved over, he felt another familiar headache kicking in, but this time, it wasn't a vision of the future.

With his eyes wide open, the tall brown fox turned around to see what looked like an image of Gareth. He could only just make out the back of him, as something was obstructing Marshall's view. The fox made a point to look him over carefully.

He saw armour, pitch black. It was all over too, with not any hints of another colour besides maybe some really dark grey. However, the most interested part was the black straps that held something in place over the gunman's face.

Marshall walked around the killer, seeing nothing but more black armour as well as more of the victim, who he could now confirm was Gareth. Soon, Marshall rounded up to come face to face with the killer, and looked up to see something frightening.

"No..." he gasped.

What he saw was the same mask he'd seen not so long ago. It was yellow, with a sadistic smile spread across its mouth, showing serrated teeth. The eyes of the mask were hollow and soulless, and whoever made the mask didn't want the person behind it to be recognised from their eye colour. And, to top it all off, a large X was scratched over the left eye of the match, almost like it was carved with a knife.

Marshall continued to watch in horror as the masked man fired his bullet, with Gareth whimpering and begging for his life as he was killed, the bullet passing from the back of his head through to the front in a shower of scarlet blood and pink brain matter.

The mask then slowly turned to Marshall, looking directly at him. And, somehow, the grin widened even more, the mouth physically moving to stretch out. The eyes themselves also appeared happier, almost jovially so, and Marshall gulped.

The brown fox then backed away, holding either side of his head as he leaned on one of the trees. He kept his eyes closed for several moments, almost minutes, and when he opened them, he saw nothing there, and he put his hand over his heart to make sure that it was still working.

"Holy... mother..." He stammered a bit, trying to catch his breath. "I... I need to go home..."

He stepped out from where he was sat, and was about to pick up his bike when he bumped into someone. Literally. He looked up to see a faint image of what looked like a police officer, with the streetlights only showing his outline.

"Are you the guy from earlier?" Marshall asked.

"Not exactly..." the officer said. His voice was far deeper than the last one. "I'm the replacement, if you will. And I know who you are, Marshall. I work with your dad all the time."

"Please, don't tell him that I was out here..." Marshall said, almost begging.

"Why are you out here anyway?" the officer asked.

"I... wanted to look at the scene..." Marshall answered. He quickly glanced at the officer's name tag. "Look, officer Banner, I'll be out of here in a jiffy."

"Look at the scene?" Banner asked. "Is that why your phone is switched on?"

"Y-Yeah..." Marshall said. It wasn't technically a lie.

"You were taking photos for evidence?"

"Yes..."

"To help with the investigation?"

"Yes..."

"And you know what this investigation is looking in to, right?"

"Yes, I know," Marshall said, wanting the conversation to be over.

Banner breathed out a sigh. "And did Tails let you in on this?"

Marshall shook his head. "No. He... he didn't."

"Then you should leave," said Banner, pulling out his phone. "I'm going to call him."

"N-No! Wait!" Marshall slapped the phone out of Banner's hand in a rush, knocking it a fair distance into the leaves. "I'm so sorry! I'll go get it back!"

"No, it's fine," Banner replied. He was about to go get it back, but Marshall stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Look, let me do it," he implored. "I'm already in enough trouble tonight. You might as well let me make up for it."

"Saving my phone isn't going to cover you for every infraction that you've made tonight," said Banner. "But... thank you. Just be quick about it and go home."

Marshall nodded, going over to the two trees. He used his own phone to look carefully for Banner's, and soon he found it over by the right tree. He picked up the phone and, in a somewhat risky move, threw it back over to its owner.

"Well, job well done," said Banner, unable to hide his smile. "You know, if you weren't going for..."

"Electrical engineering," Marshall finished, chuckling.

"Yeah, that," Banner nodded. "You'd be a hell of a cop."

"Well, I appreciate the offer, but I'm good," Marshall said.

"I'll call your dad to pick you up," Banner said.

"No. I'll... I'll do it," Marshall said. "I'll just ride over and call him up. And, besides, you have another job to do here already."

"All right, but only if you're absolutely sure," the cop replied. "Just be careful, okay? It's late enough as it is."

Marshall nodded. "I'm sorry about all of this. I just... wanted to help..."

"I know," said Banner. "Now, you'd best scram, kid."

"Will do."

Marshall then picked up his bike, starting the ride back home. But instead of taking the normal route back, he decided to take a shortcut that he knew about that had saved him a few times. The school bus itself had taken the shortcut before, so Marshall knew it by heart.

He rode along the outside of a bridge that normally would have been busy. Said bridge was surrounded by trees and some small houses, but it was notable for its grassland. The tunnel under the bridge was notable for its graffiti, which nobody seemed too bothered to clean up.

After riding for a little while, Marshall came to a stop, feeling a bit tired. After a short break, he was about to hop back onto his bike when he heard a weak coughing noise. Marshall kept his bike beside him as he followed the noise to its source.

He saw someone with tattered clothing, and as he leaned closer, a coppery smell hit his nostrils. "Hey, it'll be okay," he said, leaning down to get a better look. He saw that the person's face was beaten, the blood dripping to their clothes and staining them almost a dark shade of pink. "We'll get you out of here. It'll be okay."

"They'll... they'll get you too..." the man said.

"I know, I have friends who'll help me," said Marshall.

"N-No... not them..." The man spat out more blood. "You... you're going to... be their next..."

"Their next... what?" Marshall asked, his eyes widening a bit with fear. "Victim? Is the X Killer coming after me next?"

"Not... victim..." The man sputtered out a series of coughs before letting out a sickening gurgle, falling limply to his side.

Marshall put a couple of fingers on the man's neck and felt... nothing. He pushed a few times on his chest to try and get something out of him, but all that he got was some blood on his hands that wasn't even his fault.

"N-No..." Marshall felt sick. He'd never seen this before. He'd never wanted to. He staggered slowly to his feet, backing away without looking. "I've... I've got to tell..." His eyes then snapped to his left, and he saw an X on the wall next to the dead man's body. It was fresh and blood red. "I'm... I'm next... I've got to get out of here..."

And the last thing that he felt as he turned around was a solid object to the back of his head, knocking him out. He didn't even feel himself being caught before falling to the floor, or the mask over his head, or being dragged away either.

* * *

 **And there you have it. It wasn't a super violent chapter, but I did say that this is where things got interesting, and I hope that this was that. I hope that you enjoyed it, and I'll see you soon for more Love And War, maybe more More Toys too, and definitely more Foxhunt. Take care, and stay tuned.**


	7. Cut And Dry

Marshall the fox was asleep, but getting some feeling back into his hands after having been knocked unconscious. He moved his hands and felt them on a weird surface, so he opened his eyes to see that his wrists had handcuffs around them. In a panic, Marshall sat up, his eyes instantly closing as they made contact with a piercingly bright light that began to flicker.

"Ugh..." He lifted his hands up to shield himself, and soon, the light went out. "Okay... that was... weird..." He blinked his eyes several times before focusing his gaze on the room around him. It was small, white, and almost empty. The only other thing besides him in the room was a box in front of him.

"Oh, no... this is just like that nightmare..." Marshall said to himself. "It's okay. I'll... I'll close my eyes, and open them, and this'll all be over..." He did just that, shutting his eyes tight and opening them... but still in the same room.

It was then that the pain in the back of his head made itself known, so he turned to his side and began to throw up. Thankfully, there was a garbage can there, so he didn't make a mess on the floor, instead aiming his spew into the trash.

He leaned back up after he was done, rubbing his head. "Ow... what the hell... where-"

"I'm sure that you have a lot of questions," said a voice. It was male, British, and unnervingly soft-spoken.

Marshall looked up to see a speaker in the corner of the ceiling. "I do. Who are you?"

"Well, you can call me The Director," the voice said.

"And what does a director want with me?" Marshall asked.

"I want to pass down a legacy to you. A legacy that I started a long time ago."

"Yeah? Well, forget it," Marshall said. "I don't want to be a part of whatever sick experiment that you have planned for me. Let me go."

"You have people who worry about you. That's good. We can use that to develop your character," The Director said. "Hmm... you're going to college soon... ah, that's it! You don't know your abilities as a Mobian yet. That's a good motivator."

"How do you know that?" Marshall asked.

"Well, you've been seeing weird visions lately, yes?"

"How... how do you know this?"

"I know a lot about you, Marshall. Answer the question."

The tall fox shuddered at his name being mentioned, but he nodded. "Yes... why?"

"Well, you partake in marijuana," The Director said. "And where do you get it?"

"Usually from a dealer friend, but sometimes I have others who will hook me up at school when I need it," Marshall said.

"Ah, honesty. A good character trait for you."

"Yeah..." Marshall paused.

"And you have family? Foster parents, one of which is a fox... and he's a police officer, looking into the case of the X Killer..." The Director snapped his fingers. "Perfect! Oh, you're going to fit this role so well!"

"What on Earth are you talking about?" asked Marshall.

The Director chuckled gleefully. "Well... that weed you've been smoking? I made it hallucinogenic on purpose."

"Why?"

"Because I've been watching you, kid. You've got potential. You've got the ability to be a superstar! I wanted to see what you did when you saw those horrors, and you're one of the rare few to have such a bad nightmare like that."

"Wait, you can see into my dreams?" Marshall asked.

"No, but I saw how you looked when you woke up the next day. Imagine my shock when you came to look for me directly."

"Yeah, you sound like you're shaking in your boots," Marshall deadpanned. "You still haven't told me why I'm here."

The Director then let out a booming laughter which echoed through the room. It didn't even need to come through all of the other speakers to be heard from all sides, and it made Marshall's stomach churn a little bit more.

"Oh, you're not very bright for someone on his way to an electrical engineering degree," The Director said.

"Will you stop with the jokes?" Marshall asked. "This isn't funny, okay? This is sick and twisted, and when I find my way out, you're going to have a whole host of problems."

"What, just because you vaguely know a little bit about self-defence?" The Director mocked. "Give me a break, kid. Even if you could get out of those cuffs, and out of that room, you'd never find me."

Marshall looked around, seeing a mirror to the left of him. "You're on the other side of that, right?"

"Ah, yes, your foster father is a cop. I could very well be on the other side, watching you squirm and struggle." The Director chuckled. "Tell me, do you think that Tails and Cream would be happy to know that you wound up here tonight when you should have been at home? Hmm? All tucked up and snuggled, waiting for your free week of college to start so that you could learn your powers... what a waste of potential that would be."

"Potential?"

"Yes... see, Marshall, as I said, I've been watching you for a little while now. I know what you're capable of. And I know that you work hard, you put your nose to the grindstone and keep going when you need to. I also know of your bisexuality despite being a man of the cloth. I know about your depression and sadness and anger and that you go to a therapist to deal with those exact emotions."

"How the heck do you know all of this?" Marshall asked.

"I know it because where I am has access to many security cameras. I've hacked into pretty much all of them, and nobody in this city moves without me knowing about it."

"You sound like a pervert."

"No, I give people privacy," The Director said with a chuckle. "What they do in their dressing rooms is their business."

"That doesn't make what you do any better," Marshall said. "Just knowing all of this information about somebody is creepy enough."

"That may be true, but knowledge is power," said The Director. "And I know for a fact that you're going to help me, because if you don't, I will hurt your family. Or, to be more accurate, I will make you hurt your own family."

"And my friends?"

"And your friends, yes," The Director chuckled. "Even that cute green girl. Cosmo, was it? She really likes you, kid. You did a good job there."

Marshall sighed. "Just... tell me what you want from me..."

"You know, I'm so glad that you're agreeing to this, because you really don't have a choice." The Director laughed a bit before continuing. "If I remember correctly, I put the key... ah, yes, underneath your tongue."

Marshall lifted his mouth, feeling around inside it. He leaned down onto the table and spat out the said key. "How come it didn't get lost with all the vomit?"

"Because when hidden in the right place, nothing ever gets truly lost," said The Director. "Free yourself."

The brown fox looked down at the key, seeing it near the box in front of him. He hesitated for a few beats before picking the key up, freeing his hands from their shackles. He rubbed his wrists to soothe the pain there, but stayed seated.

"Okay... I'm free..." he said.

"I can see that," said The Director. "Well done! You can follow instructions!"

Marshall shook his head. "I really don't need you to talk like that to me... I know what I'm doing..."

"Which is impressive, given your concussion," The Director said. "Look in the top drawer of the desk. Should be some painkillers to help."

Marshall reached for said drawer, opening it up and seeing a small orange bottle of pills. He took two out and swallowed them down dry, gulping and coughing a bit. "Ugh... that would have been better with water..."

"You could always use the trash can," The Director suggested.

"Ew..."

The Englishman chuckled. "Now, there is another key in this room. Said key opens the box in front of you, and that's all that it opens. And, before you ask, no, it's not on your person, nor is it in the trash can. I'm not making you dig your hand through your own puke just for that. This isn't torture porn, you know. I'm a real director, here to make heart-wrenching drama."

"By making people kill other people?" Marshall asked.

"I never said that I wasn't a hypocrite," said The Director.

"Okay, so if the key's not on me, and not in the bin, then where is it?"

"Ah, now, wouldn't that be a spoiler? It's time for some method acting, kid. Go ahead. Look."

Marshall sighed. "Look, you're really not giving me enough hints here."

"Oh? Well, here's one hint for you." As The Director said that, gas started to pour into the room with a slight hissing sound following. "See, if you don't find the key and open the box, your life will end, and I will have brought you all the way out here for nothing. Don't make me regret making you my main star, kid."

The Director's voice then cut off, almost like a radio transmission had ended, and more gas poured into the room. Marshall looked around, trying to take more of it in, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary compared to earlier.

"Come on..." he sighed to himself. He turned back to his side, bending to lift the trash can up. "No key here... thought it was worth a shot..."

He put the garbage bin back down, standing himself up in the process and leaving the table behind him. He looked at the mirror, seeing his reflection again as well as the green vapour that was slowly filling up the room. He covered his mouth and coughed a bit.

"I need to find that key..."

He immediately went to the closest wall, checking for anything that seemed out of place. He pushed against the tiles, hoping to find some sort of clue, but to no avail. He kept pressing on tiles he already went over just in case, but still got nothing back.

He then moved on to the next wall, then the next one after that, still not finding anything. He was approaching the mirror and the seat that he was cuffed to only mere moments ago, and as he got closer, he kept feeling around for something, but once again, nothing popped up.

"Oh, come on..." Marshall sighed. He then began choking profusely. "Ugh... I need..."

His vision started to blur again, and he saw a small crack in the corner of the mirror. He went over to press against it, and a small piece of glass fell, nicking Marshall's hand in the process. He reached down to pick it up, and saw something just behind his head in the reflection, causing him to look up at the speaker.

"Found... it..."

He didn't waste any more time. He couldn't afford to. He grabbed the chair, pulling it over with him, and stood it near the wall. Marshall hopped up onto the chair, seeing a small hole in the side of the speaker. Grinning a bit, Marshall reached into the hole, feeling something small, thin, and oddly patterned.

He pulled out the key quickly, and soon hopped back down from the chair, stumbling as he reached the box on the desk. Trying to keep his hands steady, the fox managed to insert the key into the lock, opening it up. He didn't see what was in there, since the smoke was still rising, but he reached in and put it on.

"Ah, that's the kind of quick thinking that I expected to see from you!" The Director's voice cut through the haze. "Once again, you have impressed me."

Marshall took a deep breath with the mask on. "Ugh... man..."

"Oh, you'll be okay. You've been in worse scrapes than this."

"To be honest, it was a little bit easy," Marshall said, taking a few deep breaths.

"You'd be surprised at how few people do that that quickly. In fact, I think that you just set a record."

Marshall was about to speak back, but a loud hiss sounded through the room, and he noticed the gas starting to shrink back to the vents. When it did, Marshall found his breath starting to come back better, and he opened up his eyes to see himself in the mirror.

"Wait... is... is that..."

"You know it?" asked The Director. "One of your visions, right?"

Marshall didn't reply, his gaze fixed to the mirror as he saw what he was wearing. It was a yellow mask, looking humanoid in shape, and it had a sickening grin spread across it. The eyes were pitch black, almost lifeless, and there was an X scratched into the mask just under the left eye.

"This... those... those weren't just hallucinations..." said Marshall. "They were..."

"Premonitions? Predictions? Whatever you call them, they've all somewhat come true in some way or another, right?"

"Yeah..." Marshall said. "But, wait... that nightmare..."

"A nightmare?" The Director's voice took an odd tone of sincerity. "Tell me what happened?"

"I had a nightmare that I was in a room just like this... but the box had the heads of my foster parents..." Marshall said, feeling himself get sick again.

"Well, if you follow my instructions to the letter, then they will never be hurt," The Director said.

"You promise?" Marshall sighed. "Why am I asking some nut-job stuck in his mum's basement?"

"I am not just some nut-job," said The Director. "I'm the nut-job that has your life in his hands. In fact, I'm sure that you saw the last person who disobeyed my orders."

Marshall shuddered as he remembered. "Why was he like that?"

"Because he didn't follow my orders," The Director said. "I want it to be known that I only asked him to kill who needed killing. That little family with the gay couple and one of their sisters? One was embezzling money, and the other two were accomplices who wanted out."

"If they wanted out, why were they all killed?"

"Because we can't afford loose ends," said The Director. "That's what we got when one of the people from that area gave that interview. Because my former actor refused to play his part, I terminated his contract. Permanently."

"What do you mean?" Marshall asked. "That poor stoat was in shock. He didn't know what was happening."

"He was a neighbour. He must have known something," said The Director.

"What business is it to you if someone embezzles money?" Marshall asked.

"Because, like I told you, I see everything. I have eyes everywhere. Nobody is a saint, Marshall. Least of all you."

"I never said I was," Marshall said.

"Well, you're the first employee of mine to be a man of the cloth," the English director said. "That could add a layer to your character..."

Marshall gulped. "Wait, go back a little bit. If I'm the first to go to church, and the guy I saw before being dragged here was before me... how many were before him?"

"Only a few," said The Director. "In different parts of Mobius, though. Hell, even different parts of the world itself. And they were all good, but those were meagre audition tapes for the most part. Just spree killers trying to get themselves off with their own blood-lust, or wannabe psychos who thought that they could get back at society for being wronged when really, they were just fucking crazy." The Director cleared his throat. "I apologise for my swearing. I know that you don't care much for it."

"It's... it's okay..." Marshall said.

"But, now you see the legacy. This isn't some psychopathic war on civilisation and humanity. This is a chance to get even. See, I've brought up that you're an actor and I, of course, am directing you. But this? This is a revenge story. I know that you have people who have wronged you, and you know that you want them to get their comeuppance."

"Like who?" Marshall asked.

"That bully... Hyder, I believe. Yes... he's a perfect foil for you..."

"Well, maybe not any more," the brown fox said. "He... he's going through some rough times. I want him to get help."

"Well, tough luck," said The Director. "He's going to be your first victim."

Marshall chuckled. "Come on, you know that you're not going to get away with this. You know that Tails is a cop, and since you know that, I can tell him all that I know about you."

"With those extra details that you already picked up on?" The Director chuckled. "Those details that I let you see when the time was right?"

"What do you mean? Were you withholding the information?"

"Well, that shouldn't matter to you. You're not a cop."

"No, but I know some cops."

"Which also doesn't matter, because I'd see them coming. I'd see every little thing that you're planning. If you try to fight against me, you'll be another case of poorly wasted potential. And for someone with so much of it, I really don't want to see it all just go to waste."

Marshall sighed. "You won't get away with this. Someone will be onto something quickly, and they'll start getting suspicious."

The Director chuckled. "That's what I'm counting on. That's why you're perfect for the role. See, you're going to spend a free week doing courses to try and learn your powers. You will have that week alone to do exactly as I tell you."

"And what are you going to tell me to do?" Marshall asked. "Kill innocent people?"

"Whoa, come on, the last guy didn't kill any innocent people. The people that he killed were doing bad things."

"Stealing money from people? I hate to break it to you, but it's better than being murdered."

Then there was an electrical shock that coursed through Marshall's mask, and he keeled over, landing on his knees. He put his hands on either side of the mask to try and remove it, but the shock got to them as well, and he waved his hands from the pain as he screamed.

"Now, let me tell you something," said The Director. "You are my actor. My main star. You are going to put on the performance of a lifetime. You don't need a dialect coach or a personal trainer or even a good dialogue script. You, Marshall, are going to do exactly what I say. You are going to kill exactly who I tell you to kill, regardless of how much bad they've done. Is that clear?"

"F..." Marshall started. "F... fuck... you..."

The shocking stopped, and the brown fox caught his breath as The Director laughed. "That's the spirit. That's the spark of defiance that I was looking for. You need that edge."

Marshall rubbed the sides of his head. "Can... can I take this off?"

"Of course."

Marshall did so, feeling his head start to throb as he removed it. He turned the mask around to look directly at it, peering into its hollow eyes especially. "I... I really don't have a choice?"

"No," said The Director. "I've made it clear enough by this point. Be my star and do as I say."

"And... what do I get out of it?" Marshall asked.

"You get to live, and all of your friends get to keep their lives as well. If you fail or slip up even once, you will all pay for it."

Marshall nodded. "Okay... okay. But... I can't just wear the mask."

"Oh, I thought of that," said The Director. "I have something in mind for you. I'll give you more details tomorrow. You should go home. Your family are very worried about you."

The door that led to the room opened, and Marshall turned to see some light peering into it. He carefully walked out, seeing that he was in some sort of bunker. He didn't get a chance to look around as a black van pulled up next to him, the door on the side opening.

Marshall hopped in, and the door shut behind him automatically as a voice came on over the radio. "Marshall? Are you sitting comfortably?" The Director asked.

"Not really..." Marshall admitted.

"Ah, yet more honesty. I love that about you." The Englishman then chuckled. "Now, I want you to know that you will never know anything about the people driving you back and forth. You do not know their names or their faces, and you never will. It's their job to drive you where I tell them to."

"And where are we going?"

"You'll find out."

The van suddenly stopped, and Marshall was pulled up near the highway, nearer the grassy side of it. He opened the door, looking around. "What's happening?"

"Well, this is your story for why you got lost," said The Director. "Banner didn't call Tails provided that you went straight back home. However, while you were on your way back, your bike's front wheel hit a small hole in the road and you fell, landing on your head and knocking yourself out. Given your already tired state, you didn't even bother to call Tails or Banner or anybody, which helps because you don't want them to know what you were doing."

Marshall looked confused, his head turning to see where his bike was. "It's... a hell of a plan..."

"And it'll work," The Director said. Some unseen force then pushed Marshall out of the van. "And... action!"

Marshall hurried to where the bike was, seeing that one of the wheels was crumpled for effect. He turned back around to see the black van taking off, and was thankful that it was early in the morning where no cars were around to see it. He laid down on the grass next to the bike, laying on his side. He pulled his phone out for good measure, typing in a few of the numbers for his home just to add more. As he typed the last one, he heard a car coming up, so he closed his eyes tightly.

"Marshall?" a voice asked as the car stopped. Tails left the vehicle quickly, leaning to shove his foster son awake.

The younger of the two foxes opened his eyes slightly, and he held his head. "Ugh... where... am I?"

Tails picked Marshall up. "We'll answer any questions when we get home, okay? Just relax for now."

Tails draped one of Marshall's arms over his shoulders, carrying him to the police car as another officer grabbed Marshall's bike to put on the roof. Marshall was guided into the back of the car, and as soon as everyone was set, the drive back home began.

* * *

 **Oh, yeah... I told you guys it was going to get a lot worse for Marshall. Here's what that looks like. I hope that you guys enjoyed it, and I really liked writing it, to be honest. I always do. I think that's called job satisfaction, but I've never really had a job, so... yeah. Anyway, see you all in the next one. Take care, and stay tuned.**


	8. Stick To The Script

Halfway through the drive back, Marshall's vision was still blurry, or at least he was making it out to be that way. He touched the back of his head, feeling some dried blood, and sighed, looking at the rear view mirror to see Tails looking at him.

"You... you had me and Cream worried..." Tails said.

"I know," Marshall said. "I'm... really sorry..."

Tails sighed, making a turn. It was then that Marshall noticed something strange, and that this route home was either a shortcut, a longer way around, or just not a way back home at all. But he kept quiet, and soon saw the police station in view as the car pulled up to it.

Tails found a parking spot, letting Marshall out of the car before taking his arm, guiding it to the station. He walked to the front desk, asked for an interrogation room, and was granted one, taking the tall brown fox with him, his grip tightening a bit.

"Hey, take it easy," Marshall said.

"Sit down and shut up," Tails said.

"But-"

"Now!" Tails yelled.

Marshall sighed, doing as he was told. "Okay, I'm seated."

Tails grunted, shutting the door behind him. "Where were you last night?"

"I was out with my friends," Marshall said.

"I meant after you got back home from the party, smart-ass," Tails said.

"Okay, fine. I went out to get some fresh air, and I took my bike," Marshall said.

"In the middle of the night?" Tails asked.

"Yes."

"With the knowledge that there's a fucking psychopath killing people however he sees fit?"

Marshall gulped. "I... I wasn't hurt..."

"No, not by him," Tails said. "But what if he got to you before I did? What would have happened then, huh?" Tails shook his head. "Look, I don't know why you were on that freeway, but you shouldn't have been there. Unless you were taking the long way back from the crime scene."

"You... you know, then..."

"Banner told me," Tails confirmed with a nod. "He said that you took photos of the crime scene. I need those photos, because you're not supposed to have them."

Marshall sighed, pulling his phone out. "I'll send the images to your phone then I'll delete them, okay?"

"Good."

Marshall shook his head, doing as he said he would do. He gathered any images that he'd managed to take that night and sent them to Tails' phone before deleting them. He then slid his phone back to his pocket, feeling a weird static tingle from it.

"So, what were you doing last night exactly?" Tails asked.

Marshall sighed. "I was looking up the X Killer or Ten Killer or whatever name he's going by this week. I saw an image the other night, the night that you caught me looking at the pictures, and I... had some sort of vision..."

"A vision?" Tails asked.

"It's been happening a lot lately," Marshall said. "I keep seeing things that aren't there, mostly to do with X. I saw what looked like a blood splatter on one of the leaves that looked like an X shape."

Tails found the photo in his phone and showed it to Marshall. "That one?"

"Yeah, that's the one," Marshall said.

"And you saw it in a vision?" Tails asked.

"I've been seeing lots of crazy stuff lately," said Marshall. "I've seen things that aren't there, been getting headaches and migraines, and... nightmares..."

"Nightmares? Like what?"

"Like the kind where you and Cream are killed, with your heads stuffed in a box like some bad gangster movie."

"Have you talked to Espio about it?"

"No, but I did talk to Zachary when I went to church. I glossed over it because it wasn't as bad then, but it's been getting worse lately..."

"What do you think that the cause of it might be?" Tails asked. "Stress over college, maybe?"

"I keep telling you that it's not college," Marshall said. "I'm fine with it. I made my peace with the fact that it might not fully go well for me. But that's why I'm taking that free week, right?"

"The free week is to help you learn your powers and to get used to college life," Tails said. "Something like this happening beforehand is not good, Marshall." He shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I should have locked all the doors and windows last night. I knew that I should have."

"Hey, I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"Alive and hurt and scared," Tails said. "I know how stressful things are for you right, but this isn't the way to deal with it. This shit is stressing all of us out, and I don't need you getting hurt, okay?"

Marshall nodded. "I know..."

Tails sighed a bit. "So, why were you taking the long way back?" he asked.

"Less traffic," Marshall shrugged. "I took the normal roads on the way there, but on the way back, the freeway was pretty much wide open. And besides, I stuck to the bike lane anyway, just in case."

"And you were found tripped over with a head wound," Tails said.

Marshall was about to answer, but then a shock went through his brain and he held his head with both hands. leaning down against the table. The Director's voice soon came through clearly, and it only made Marshall feel even worse.

"Marshall! There you are!" he said. "Now, don't speak to me directly because your father here might think you insane. Just make an excuse to use the bathroom, and I'll tell you the rest."

"Hey, are you okay?" Tails asked.

"Tell him that you have a headache still from last night," The Director said.

"Uh... yeah..." Marshall said. "I still have a headache from my accident last night. I just... need to use the bathroom."

"You know where they are, right?" Tails asked.

"Yep."

"Right. Well, I guess keeping you confined in a room like this won't help much. But you'd better come right back."

"I will."

Marshall got up, leaving the room as Tails watched him. Soon, Marshall was in the hallway, passing by some other policemen as he reached the bathrooms. He went to the cubicles and sat down in one, thankful that all was empty at the moment.

"What are you doing in my head?" asked Marshall.

"Oh, right, I forgot to mention that part. Well, you remember that mask?"

"Yeah..."

"Remember when it sent shocks directly into your brain and you screamed in agony?"

"Yeah..." Marshall repeated, getting more frustrated.

"Well... I may or may not have implanted something in your head that allows you to hear me," said The Director. "It's like a link of telepathy, except with a microphone that you can barely see."

"Why would you do that?"

"Okay, you got me," The Director admitted. "It's actually an earpiece."

"No, I mean, why would you do it at all?"

"Well, I had to keep a connection with you somehow after you left. And you did say that you'd do my work, right? You want to protect your family, don't you?"

"I do... but how did you give me an earpiece by just putting the mask on me?"

"Well, if you want to get technical, you put the mask on yourself," said The Director. "It sent electrical waves as an example of what would happen if you disobey. I picked waves that strong because it's a hundredth of the strength that death row inmates would take in on the electric chair."

"Are you serious?"

"Oh, relax, it's only 20 volts."

"You say that like frying my brain isn't a bad thing," Marshall said.

"Well, it won't be a bad thing for you if you shut up and listen. I thought that I made that clear by now."

Marshall grunted. "Okay, how does shocking my brain give me an earpiece?"

"Well, the earpiece was already on your ear because my guys put it there myself," said The Director. "The volts were to get it working."

"And that... worked?"

"It's working like a charm, huh?" The Director said. "Come on, as someone looking into electrical engineering, you have to admit that that was quite smarts of me. Oh, I could have helped that pun, but I chose not to."

Marshall grunted. "Look, will you skip to the point? Anyone could walk in, and we need to get back to Tails before he-"

"Marshall?" Tails' voice sounded. "You okay in there?"

The Director chuckled. "Oh, well, you'd best make yourself look busy."

"Um... yeah, I'm okay," Marshall said. "Just... man, the stress has been making me feel stressed a lot lately, you know? I needed some alone time."

"In a men's bathroom?" Tails asked.

"Oh, this isn't going to work out for you," said The Director. "Okay, if you want to get out of this, then you'll say exactly what I tell you to say."

"Never in a million years..." Marshall said.

"What was that?" Tails asked.

"Yeah, what was that?" The Director asked, his tone taking on some threat.

"Um... never in a million years did I think that I'd wind up where I am," Marshall said. "And it's thanks to you, Tails. You and Cream helped me persevere for so long when it came to my studies. I am where I am in life because of you."

"You're in a men's police bathroom being interrogated for going out late last night and not returning, worrying me and Cream sick," Tails said. "And that's because of me?"

"I-I didn't mean it like-"

"That's it, I'm taking over," The Director said. "Now, do exactly what I tell you to do."

Tails sighed. "And here I was thinking that maybe your cop fantasies were just that. Turns out that I've rubbed off on you. But that doesn't mean that you should have been as careless as you were last night."

Marshall nodded, not to Tails or to himself, but to the voice in his ear. "Yes, Tails. I'm... sorry..."

"I know you are," Tails said. "But saying it and proving it are two different things."

"I wanted to help," Marshall said, wondering why The Director was making him say it when he'd tried this approach himself in the past and it never worked. "I just wanted to give you any info that I could."

"And you did," Tails said. "But we can handle it from here."

"Can you? Because the more time that you waste talking to me like I'm an idiot, the more victims that sick bastard is racking up."

"Hey, will you give it rest?" Tails said. "This is way too big for you."

Marshall sighed. "Well, you need to catch this guy. I just... wanted to do my bit."

Tails scratched behind his head. "Marshall... I love you. You're a good kid. Smart, tall, very fluffy, outspoken, and you've struggled against discrimination a lot in the past. But... I don't want you following my footsteps. If you want to help people, then fine. But don't help people like this, because all you're doing is getting in the way, and the person that gets in the way often ends up hurt the most. I've seen it happen a lot before, and I don't want that shit coming around for you too, okay?"

The tall fox nodded. "I... I get you, man."

"My point is, if you want to help people, then you need to stop pulling stunts like this," Tails said. "Heck, you were hurt last night because you tripped over a rock and gave yourself one hell of a bump. I'm surprised that you're not concussed, to be honest."

"I guess... I'm learning to deal with the noise in my head..." Marshall grinned inwardly, aiming that one at The Director, which earned a chuckle from the Brit.

Tails chuckled. "Well... you won't have as much noise going on in the free week when it starts tomorrow."

"Wait, you're still letting me go?" Marshall asked.

"Oh, absolutely," Tails said. "But, at first, I didn't want to. See, I texted Cream about it to see what her opinion about it was, and she said to go back home to discuss it. So... it'll be a yes."

"So, wait, I'm confused. Am I going? How do you know that Cream will say yes for sure?"

"Because she wants you to go to college and be happy," Tails said. "And, well, I do want that for you too. But given what happened last night, I just couldn't jump ship fully at first. Not if you're going to make more mistakes like that."

Marshall chuckled. "I'm pretty sure that Cream would keep me in line if I even thought about it."

Tails smiled. "Look... I'm just trying to look out for you. That'll be really hard to do if you get caught and killed. It all starts tomorrow, and we really can't risk something like this."

"I know," Marshall nodded. "I promise, I'll stay on my best behaviour. The X Killer thing is your business, not mine. I'll stay out of it."

Tails nodded. "Good."

"I don't suppose a hug would be in order, no?"

Tails smiled, going over to hug him, and Marshall hugged back. As he did, The Director remained silent, much to Marshall's surprise. Soon, the hug broke, and the two foxes then went back to the interrogation room, sitting at the table again, Marshall waiting for more questions.

"Do you want to go to college tomorrow?" Tails asked.

"I do," said Marshall. "I feel like I've made that clear, but... you're right. I do need to buck up my ideas and take this seriously. A lot could change tomorrow, and I need to focus if I want to learn what my powers are."

Tails smiled. "You're already in college. You didn't need powers to get in. You work hard. But I do appreciate that you want to find out, and I have faith that you will."

"I hope so..." Marshall said. "I'm really sorry about last night."

"Don't be," said Tails. "You want to make up for it? Keep doing what you're doing. Start your free week, and knock it out of the park, okay?"

Marshall smiled. "I think that I can manage that."

Tails chuckled. "All right, we should get you home to Cream now."

"You're not going to stop halfway through and take me to a different police station, are you?" Marshall asked.

"No," Tails laughed. "I figured that, if you're done with lying, I might as well stop playing around too. Let's get going."

Marshall nodded, and they both left the building and getting into the car that brought them there. Marshall got into the passenger seat as Tails began the drive back home, the ride silent between the two foxes as they reached their household.

"Just remember, Cream may be pissed at us," Tails said.

"Oh, she doesn't get pissed," said Marshall. "She gets worried. Reasonably so."

"Would you call me taking you to the station a reasonable amount of worry?"

"Hmm..." Marshall thought. "I think that you overdid it. Just a little bit."

Tails chuckled, knocking on the door. It didn't take long before Cream opened it, rushing over to Marshall to hug him. Marshall hugged back and smiled, forgetting the pain that he was in for a moment to enjoy a much more pleasant feeling.

"You... had me... worried..." Cream said.

"I'm sorry..." Marshall replied. "I'm really sorry..."

"I took him to the station and asked him everything that I could think of," Tails said.

Cream pulled away from the hug, looking at the side of Marshall's head. "Oh, god, you're bleeding!"

"It's mostly healed..." Marshall said.

"Oh, nonsense," said Cream. "Come inside and I'll patch it up for you."

Marshall smiled, and he and Tails entered, all of them going to the kitchen. Tails sat down, as did Marshall, but Cream went to one of the drawers where they kept bandages and plasters just in case. She returned with a cloth to clean any dried blood before putting a soft white square on the injury, using some tape to keep it stuck on there.

"And... all done!" Cream said.

Marshall blushed a bit. "I think the last time you fixed me up like this, I was a lot shorter."

Cream giggled. "Well... anything to help you." She then slapped Marshall's arm. "What were you thinking last night?"

The tall brown fox rubbed his arm. "Ow!"

"I stayed up all night worried while Tails was searching for you! You were told not to go after that psycho that's out there, and you did it anyway!" Cream felt tears in her eyes. "I... I can't believe how stupid that was!"

"Cream..." Marshall started, but he felt Tails' hand on his arm, and just nodded.

"You're going to college tomorrow! My little man... he's supposed to start making something of himself tomorrow... and you go and do something reckless like last night! What if Tails found you dead? What if that head wound wasn't just a bump from a bike fall? What if... what if I lost you?" Cream sniffled, grabbing a tissue to wipe it away. "I don't want to lose you..." She got another tissue to wipe her eyes. "I'm sorry... I must look like a mess..."

"No... it's fine..." Marshall said. "To be honest, I haven't been fully truthful about it either. I wanted to help Tails. I really did. But... I didn't know just how much it would hurt you guys."

"Why didn't you just tell us the truth?" Cream asked.

Marshall sighed. "Because if I did, you'd probably think that I'm crazy. Heck, the one person who I have told probably thinks that of me already..."

"Who did you tell?" Tails asked.

"Cosmo. On our pizza date."

"And does Cosmo think that you're crazy?" Cream asked.

"N-No. I mean, she didn't say it when I told her, but-"

"Then you're not," Cream replied. "I know that you care for her, and she cares about you just as much. So, please, whatever the problem is... tell us..."

Marshall sighed heavily. "You promise to put your trust in me? After everything, are you sure that you want to listen?"

"We are," Tails nodded. "We want to help you, son. So... let us..."

Marshall nodded. "I've been... having hallucinations... more like visions..."

"Like what?" Tails asked.

"Just random things. At first, I thought it was just me not getting enough sleep," Marshall started. "I started seeing things that weren't there, like someone's body strung up and tortured, and... well, mostly gruesome, horrible stuff..."

"How gruesome?" Tails asked.

"Like... seeing the heads of you and Cream in a box gruesome..." Marshall said. As the words left his mouth, he wondered why The Director was telling him to say it all, just spilling the beans so easily.

"When did that happen?"

"It was a nightmare," Marshall said. "It happened on Friday night, when we got back home from fleshing the college details out with Mighty. The thing is, I hadn't done much of anything else that day. No weed, didn't look up the crimes on my laptop... I just went to bed."

"Well, maybe it was the fact that you're getting your free week to learn?" Cream asked. "Maybe that added some accidental pressure?"

"Maybe," Marshall said. "But I've been feeling that pressure a lot. Why is it making me see all of this weird stuff?"

Tails sighed. "I get it, man."

"You do?"

"Yeah," Tails said. "When I took my final tests to become a cop, I was really happy. But I was nervous as hell too. I didn't have visions or anything, but the whole week leading up to my first day as a cop, there wasn't a day that passed by without me getting a headache or nauseated."

"Well... I have been getting headaches, but it's never been serious..." Marshall said. "I just chalk it up to lack of sleep."

Tails shrugged. "I got sleep fine back then. Doesn't mean I wasn't nervous."

"Okay, not that this isn't helping, but... why are you telling me this? What part of this is meant to make me feel better?"

Tails sighed. "I'm just saying, it doesn't matter what big thing you're going for, you're going to get nervous. You might feel sick, get headaches, even pass out from it all. You'll lose sleep, sure, but you can't lose track of what's important."

"Oh..." Marshall gulped.

"So, let me ask you," Tails said, "what's important to you?"

The tall brown fox nodded. "You two are important to me. Cosmo is important to me. My friends are important to me. But, right now, the most important thing is making myself a better person by going to college. I want to help people, like you two, like my friends, and like Cosmo. I want to show people that it doesn't matter what their race is, or their gender, or orientation... they can be bigger than their beginnings and the sum of their parts."

"Like you want to be?" asked Cream.

Marshall smiled and nodded again. "Yes..."

"Then, if you keep that all of that in mind, don't you think it's worth it?" Tails asked. "All the hard work is starting to pay off, but it doesn't all pay off instantly. Hard work is called that because... well, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it."

Marshall smiled. "I'll keep working. But I should take it a bit easier, I guess..."

"Exactly. And if you want to help with my investigation, then you'll keep doing what you do," Tails said. "Please... don't get yourself caught up in it again. For all I know, you could have been kidnapped and attacked and left where I found you."

"Yeah... thank god that wasn't the case..." Marshall smiled a bit, since that wasn't a line that he was told to say.

Tails smiled back. "Just chin up and keep your focus in the right place, okay?"

"Okay," Marshall nodded.

Cream stood up and hugged her foster son. "Now, you're going to go and shower, and then we're going to get some food sorted, okay?"

Marshall nodded, hugging back. "I will." He stopped and turned to hug Tails too. "Thank you..."

"You want to thank me, get your stinky self cleaned up," Tails laughed.

Marshall did too, going up the stairs. He reached his room, seeing that some of his things were packed into boxes for tomorrow. He went over to his wardrobe and got some new clothes out, folding them for when he was done showering before leaving his room, heading for the bathroom.

He showered, surprised that The Director didn't speak to him during it. After he finished showering, he got his change of clothes on, going downstairs to see some cheese on toast waiting. He smiled and sat with his parents to eat as they watched TV, watching a superhero movie together.

After it was over, Marshall offered to clean the dishes, but Cream did it for him. The tall fox smiled and decided to go upstairs, sitting down to play some video-games and putting on some music as he did so, the time flying by as he had fun.

When he was done, he looked at the empty boxes still in his room. "I guess that Tails and Cream didn't have time to put all my stuff away, huh?"

"Either that or they've only given you enough for the free week," The Director said.

Marshall sighed. "I was wondering when you'd turn back up."

"Did you miss me that much?"

"Not really... but you did kinda just disappear when I went to have my shower."

"Well, I can't very well leave you behind when tomorrow is such a big day, now can I?"

Marshal shook his head. "Why are you even talking to me now? I said what you wanted me to say. Why did you even tell me to open up about my hallucinations?"

"Because character development," said The Director. "Nothing gets a good rise from an audience quite like seeing a character admit to a secret that they've been keeping that isn't even all that bad, but the protagonist can be too embarrassed to even speak about it. It earns sympathy points."

"First, there isn't even an audience," said Marshall. "Second, do I really get sympathy for tell people that I've been having premonitions about violence and dead people?"

"Well, considering that your audience is me, I think that you deserve all of the sympathy points." The Brit chuckled. "You delivered your lines perfectly, and your facial expressions... man, you nailed them."

"What, is that why you were quiet?" Marshall asked. "You were grading me?"

"Pretty much," said The Director. "What kind of director would I be if I didn't give my actors a fair look? So far, you've been doing well. You've done all I've told you to do, and even your ad lib lines are pretty funny. Nice little nods, I think."

"So... how did I do?"

"Fantastically," The Director said, smiling. "Seriously, considering that tomorrow is such a big day, you handled today well. No signs of nervousness, you barely stuttered, and your emotional range and poignant delivery was... pure gold..."

Marshall chuckled. "It's easy to act that way when someone puts those words in your mouth."

"Those words have always been in your mouth," said The Director. "You put them there. I just gave you the push to say them in that order. You had the strength to do it."

"So, it had nothing to do with the fact that you could kill me at any point?"

"Oh, also that," said The Director. "But if you keep showing up to work, then I promise to hold up my end of the bargain. Remember, I'm the director, and you're my star. It's my job to make sure that you reach the sky, but it's your job to shine bright at the end."

Marshall sighed and nodded. "Yeah... I know..."

The Director smiled. "You should finish getting ready for tomorrow. I'll leave you to it."

Marshall let out another sigh, rubbing his eyes. "Man... this is not how I saw this weekend going at all..."

* * *

 **And another one is done! I wanted to establish The Director a bit more as a presence, almost like some mental mentor to Marshall in this one. I hope that you all liked that, as well as the more emotional stuff, and just the chapter in general. I'll see you all soon for whatever's next. Take care, and stay tuned.**


	9. Location, Location, Location

Marshall sighed as he looked over his bedroom, now suddenly feeling a little bit emptier than it had two hours ago. Tails and Cream didn't have enough time to fully pack everything that he needed for the week, so he took it upon himself, finishing the last box at that moment. He looked at the pile of clothes he put in it, and decided to put Diez in the box as well.

"You can't forget the most important detail," said The Director.

Marshall sighed, getting the mask that he was so graciously given and putting that in the box as well. He managed to slip it between two pieces of clothing to keep it hidden as he heard a knock at the door. Marshall sighed, closed the box up, and walked over to answer it.

"Hey, Cream," he said.

"Hey, just making sure you're getting on okay," she said. "Sorry for... not helping..."

"What were you doing?" Marshall asked.

"We made you a going away cake," Tails said, walking up behind the rabbit. "It's a special one, so we worked on it for a while."

"We were thinking that you could take it to college and share some pieces," Cream said. "See if it helps you make any friends."

Marshall smiled. "Yeah, that sounds great."

The others nodded, going down the stairs with the tall fox following behind, all going to the kitchen. Cream and Tails showed Marshall a square shaped cake which had already been cut into square pieces, but when put together it read out "Congratulations, Marshall!"

"This... this is really special..." Marshall said. "Thank you, guys..."

"We're your parents," said Tails. "Even if you're not here with us, we want to support you in any way that we can, okay?"

"Thank you..." Marshall nodded. "I'll be sure to call when I can too."

Cream smiled, hugging him as she spoke. "That would be nice..."

"I'm sorry..." Marshall said. "I have been pretty distant lately. But now you know why. At least when I get to college, I can keep my head held high."

"Provided that you get enough sleep," Tails said, reaching into his pocket. He handed over an orange bottle to Marshall. "Since you're at college, you'll be studying a lot harder."

"Sleeping pills?" Marshall asked. "Is that... legal?"

"Well, in the confines of using it correctly, yes," said Tails. "But whatever you do, don't rely on them. Use them mostly at first to help you sleep, but that's it."

"We like that you're a hard worker," Cream added, "but please, think of your health. Only take one before you sleep, okay?"

"Is... is this necessary for the free week?" Marshall asked, this one of his own volition.

"You're still going to be studying there," said Cream. "I'll be honest, I was concerned... but given what you told us about last night, this could help you."

Marshall looked at the bottle again. "I... I dunno about this... do you really want to give sleeping pills to a marijuana addict?"

"Well, we thought about that," Tails said. "I've decided to confiscate any chance you have at weed. I've called up your buyers to stop, telling them why they should stop."

Marshall was confused. "You went that far to help me out with this?"

"Marshall..." Cream said, touching his arm. "We're your parents. We love you, and we want what's best for you. This may not seem like it at first, but... this will work out."

The tall fox let out another sigh. "Okay... fine... but only when I need to. I... I want to try and break my weed habit. I'll only take these when I have to, okay?"

"We know," Tails said. "That's what we were saying." Then there was a honk outside. "Ah, that must be the moving van."

Marshall nodded, getting the hint and going up to gather what boxes he could, with Cream and Tails soon joining in the assistance. They moved the boxes to the back of the van, which drove off as Tails and the others got into his car, starting it up and following the larger vehicle carefully.

They followed the path to a tee, soon arriving outside the university. The men who drove the van quickly got to work in taking the boxes in, waiting by reception as Tails asked which room was Marshall's. After being given the room of 1-J, they took their stuff up to the first floor, unpacking what they could.

The dorm itself was a single one, and Marshall had enough room. His bed was soon adorned in some sheets that were his, and he sorted the clothes out for himself as the others sorted out electrical stuff, setting up the TV set, consoles, and so on.

Over the space of half an hour, everything was soon sorted. Marshall and his family were given a little tour by one of the prefects on hand, shown around his little dorm first. It consisted of a little living room which led to two different rooms, one being a little kitchen, and the other being a bedroom, which had a small bathroom attached to it, complete with shower.

After the room tour was done, they got a look at the college itself, having not had a chance thanks to rushing in to put the boxes away and pack everything. The college's appearance was a mixture of sky blue painted walls both inside and out, with several boards and posters strewn about them. There was a break room on each floor, but the ground floor was easily the biggest, having all the main classes, each huge in its own right and with different teachers, some of which Marshall recognised as former teachers at his school.

"Well, there's a lot of space here," Marshall said.

"That there is," replied the prefect. "But you're here for the electrical engineering course, correct?"

"Indeed I am."

The prefect smiled. "There's a different building for it. All of the mechanics and engineers work over there. You want to go take a look?"

"Well, it's where my main classes will be, so... yeah," Marshall smiled.

So, they did just that, being shown around another smaller building with different rooms. There were some garages here and there, but the one that Marshall was interested in was a huge electronics room, filled with machines and other technology.

"Ah... that's the stuff..." he smiled to himself.

"That will be your Friday class," said the prefect. "Your Monday and Thursday classes will be at the garage with cars and such, but every other day is for your preferred course."

"Why does he have to sometimes work on cars?" Tails asked.

"Well, it's been shown to help people with a mind for electronics tighten their focus. And also, as eligible as he is for most other subjects, we often try to put together the best options even when a student here only wants to focus on the one."

"What about weekends?" Marshall asked.

"Well, you can stay over the weekend if you want, even for the free week," said the prefect. "Weekends are when students have the most free time to visit families as most of the weekly classes will be done by then. The only thing you could turn up for is a lecture, if you want."

"Nah. I get that enough from my parents," Marshall joked.

Tails chuckled. "Easy, you."

The prefect chuckled as well. "So... any further questions?"

"Not that we can think of," said Tails. "You, honey?"

"Nope," Cream said. "Just... promise that Marshall will be okay."

"I do," the prefect nodded. "We'll take care of him."

"Thank you so much for all of this," Tails said.

The prefect smiled. "You're welcome. I'll show you out, if that is all?"

"Oh, um, yes, please," Tails stammered.

The prefect nodded again, helping to show Marshall's parents out. They gave their son some hugs and wishes of good luck before leaving, waving goodbye as they started to drive away. Marshall waved back, smiling to himself and sighing.

"Man... I got lucky there," he said.

"That you did," said the prefect. "Oh, by the way... how's your head?"

Marshall looked shock. "Who... what?"

"The Director is in your ear, right? He's in mine too."

"Oh, I recognise him," said The Director in Marshall's ear.

"Okay, what is going on?" Marshall asked.

"I sent my assistant over to make sure that things are running smoothly."

"Okay, well, does your assistant have a name or do I just call him Prefect all the time?"

"Call him... Isaiah. I mean, that is his name."

"I knew something was up when you relinquished control..." Marshall shook his head. "Are there any other hidden guards you've got to watch over me?"

"I hope that they won't have to," said The Director. "If you let my assistant guide you, all will be well. The most important part of filming any scene is the setting. It is Isaiah's job to make sure that you get where you need to go."

"And you let him come in contact with my parents?"

"I did." The Director paused. "And I held up my end of the bargain. You do as I say, and they don't get hurt. Now, Isaiah, since Marshall has been obeying me, are you going to hurt Tails and Cream?"

"No, sir," Isaiah said.

"And why is that?"

"Because Marshall has obeyed your every order thus far, sir."

The Brit chuckled. "See how easy it is?"

Marshall grunted. "Yeah, I get it. I get the point. Can I go to my room?"

"Why? Aren't you hungry? It's almost lunchtime, after all."

Marshall's stomach rumbled, and he nodded. Isaiah smiled and led Marshall back inside, taking him to the cafeteria to get some food to go. They got some sandwiches, and then they left the building, sitting on a bench outside where it was quiet for the most part.

"So, what happens if I get out of line?" Marshall asked.

"Well, long story short, I'll make you watch me torture your parents to death," said The Director. "It could take... days. Weeks, possibly."

"I was talking to Isaiah," Marshall said.

"Ah, talking to the help. Very good. Good to get on their good sides."

Isaiah smiled. "Well, like The Director said, you keep on the straight and narrow, and you'll be safe."

"But the straight and narrow is killing people!" Marshall said.

"Bad people," the prefect said. "That was the deal, yes?"

It was then that Marshall processed the threat before him, first by looking Isaiah up and down. For someone of the age to be a college prefect, he was tall and bulky, a perfect bodyguard for someone like The Director. Tanned skin, dark blue eyes, short, dark brown curly hair, and a faint, thin black moustache on his upper lip. He wore casual clothing, a white t-shirt, blue flannel shirt, blue jeans, and black trainers, with a dark purple backpack as well, the outfit most likely an attempt at trying to blend in - which was succeeding more than Marshall thought.

"That was the deal," said Marshall. "But how do we know who's bad?"

Isaiah smiled. "For what it's worth, you don't have to worry about killing another student. That's also why I helped arrange you your own room. I'm somewhat of a supervisor to you, but if you ever want me to leave you alone, just say so."

"The Director is letting you do that?"

"He will if you say so." Isaiah chuckled. "But I'm guessing that you have more questions?"

"Yeah... so... how do I go about it?"

"There's a secret compartment behind the wall of your TV. There are little things kept there. A silenced gun, a knife, some poison, things like that."

"Wow... that's a lot of murder tools..." Marshall shook his head. "Anyway, how do we know who's bad?"

"Well, there are several faculty members in this college who have records which... aren't the cleanest. About four of them, to be exact. A former prostitute, an animal abuser, a substance addict, and a paedophile."

"How the hell is this college letting people that sick teach here?"

"Oh, the college doesn't know," said Isaiah. "They all worked with The Director in the past, but they all disobeyed his orders. They were supposed to be gunners for him, but they slipped into some really bad things. The Director might be a fucked up psychopath, but he won't stand for people straying from the road that he set them on. The other night, you saw what happened when someone dared to stray. It is your job at this college to take care of those who have also strayed. Show them what that means. And remember to tell them who it's from."

"The Director?" Marshall asked.

"No," Isaiah said. "You."

"Well, why don't the police handle it and take care of these sick bastards?"

"Because the police don't know their names," said Isaiah. "They're from different places in Mobius, and they changed their names when they stopped working for The Director for two reasons. I'll let you guess what those are."

"Um... well, I'm guessing that one is so that The Director wouldn't get caught," said Marshall.

"That's one point. Can he make it two?"

Marshall shook his head. "And the other was that so they wouldn't be sold out by The Director until the right time came?"

"The right time and the right person," Isaiah said. "The time was always here. We just needed the right man for the job. And that's you."

"So, he knows they're here... but you can't kill them, because..."

"Because I'm not the one wearing the mask," said Isaiah. "I'm fine with being a bodyguard."

"You're fine taking a bullet for someone who you know is psychotic? Do you even know what he looks like?"

"That's not what I'm paid for," Isaiah said. "I'm paid to remain quiet. Come on, kid. Do you think my real name is Isaiah?"

"Will you tell me your real name?"

"Fuck no," Isaiah said. "You need to get better at this."

"Well, it's going to be my first time killing someone," Marshall said.

"Did you now hear me when I told you that they're really evil people?"

"Killing evil people because another evil person told me so doesn't make any of this feel better," said Marshall.

"It's not suppose to be a good situation," said Isaiah. "But you will have to deal with it."

The tall fox nodded. "I know. I really, really have no choice..."

"No, you don't." The prefect reached into his bag, pulling out a folder. "This is your first target. He's one of the assistant teachers here. His name is Harrison Marks."

Marshall looked over the folder, seeing a picture of the man in question. He was Caucasian, in his late forties, had grey hair that was cut neatly to the side, although Marshall could see it receding. A black beard peppered with silver adorned Harrison's face, and his dull, almost calming brown eyes made him seem relatively harmless. His most distinguishing feature was a faint scar that ran along his left cheek, but it was small and barely noticeable.

"What's his crime?"

"This sick bastard is the animal abuser," said Isaiah. "The guy's killed more puppies and kittens than he has people. And that's not a joke or an exaggeration. I've seen the bodies."

"When do I take him out?"

"You've got all week," said Isaiah. "In fact, you can take today off, if you want. You've got the whole free week. You can even set up your own plan."

"Do you and The Director have one in mind?" Marshall asked. "Speaking of which, where is he?"

"I'm still here," The Director said. "I was just staying out of your way. Didn't want to interrupt you."

"Oh. Um... thanks..."

"No problem. As you were."

Isaiah chuckled a bit. "To answer your question, no, we don't have a plan of attack for you. But The Director wants one thing: Poetic justice. You can kill Harrison however you like, but you first need to make him see the error of his ways. Animals are a good way to do that."

"What do you want me to do, exactly?"

"That part is up to you." The bell then rang for college, and Isaiah packed the form away back in his bag. "And, sadly, I can't explain. You have a class to go to, as do I."

Isaiah left to go back to the building, and Marshall realised that neither person had touched their food. Marshall put Isaiah's in the trash and quickly stuffed his own down his throat as he followed behind, going to his first class.

He made it to the mechanic shed easily, but looking for overalls that fit his taller frame was an issue. Still, he found some, put them on, and got to work on the cars with the others, making small talk to help pass the time.

When the class was over, Marshall looked at his handiwork. "Huh... not bad, me..." The next bell then sounded, and Marshall checked his watch. He quickly shed his overalls and went to the main college building, looking around for another class, if mostly to avoid having The Director yapping in his head.

He soon settled for history, where the professor there was giving a lecture. It did bring him back to the week prior to this one, where he was in a history class with Shadow, one of his former teachers, taking up the helm. Marshall even pretended that the teacher speaking was Shadow just to pass the time better.

Soon, the lesson was finished, and Marshall had a free hour. Not really wanting nor needing to take another class, he decided to head to his dorm for the time being, thankful that the free week let him pick and choose what he wanted to do.

"All right... let's give this a shot..." He cleared some space, taking a few deep breaths to himself and nodding. He practised some small movements, those that he learned in self-defence, and threw a few strikes here and there.

About halfway through, that voice in his head spoke again. "So... you want me to leave you alone while you work out?"

"That would be nice," Marshall said, his eyes closed.

"You know... this won't help you find your powers," said The Director. "I appreciate the effort, but you won't get anything from this."

"I have a week to learn. And if I don't, I'll have more weeks to learn." Marshall shrugged. "I don't care how long it takes. I am not walking around this college without knowing my ability."

"It's probably just something silly," said The Director. "Maybe you can fly using your tail?"

"I can't," said Marshall. "You know that. You've been watching me, remember?"

"I know. I just wanted to see if you'd be dumb enough to try."

Marshall shook his head. "Could I have some peace and quiet while I do this? Please?"

"Of course. But, first... what did Isaiah tell you?"

"I thought you were- GAH!" Marshall's sentence was cut off when he fell back, sitting on the edge of his bed and holding his head as it pulsed with pain. "Fuck!"

"I told you before, all that you have to do is do as I say, and everything will be fine. Right now, I want you to listen to me and answer my questions. Understood?"

"Y-Yes..." Marshall said, shuddering.

"Good." The Director stopped the pain. "So, what did Isaiah tell you?"

"He told me about the corrupt teachers. They were all people you knew that strayed too far, and now you want them dead to cut off ties to you in case they get caught."

"Ah, he can be taught," said The Director. "And who is the first target?"

"Harrison Marks, the animal beater."

"Oh, that cunt..." The Director shook his head. "A wild man even as a simple killer. He's still that same sick human being. I know it. If there's one thing I'll not tolerate, it's animal abuse."

"You just sent electrical shock-waves through a fox's brain," said Marshall.

"Fair point, but it's to get you to listen," said The Director. "What else did Isaiah tell you?"

"That I have more time to kill them all. I could take this whole week to take care of Marks if I wanted to."

"And will you?"

"I was... thinking that..."

"Yes?"

Marshall sighed. "I was thinking that maybe I don't take all week, but I take time to prepare. I need to get inside his head somehow, more figuratively than literally. I need to make him see the error of his ways before I kill him."

"What are you thinking?"

"Hmm... can Isaiah drop me off anything? Resources to help besides weapons and poisons?"

"He can," said The Director. "What do you need?"

"I need some animal skins. No doubt that Marks left some behind for you."

The Director laughed. "Oh, perfect! That's such a good plan."

"Well, it's good, but-"

"No, you don't get it. Some of the animals were his own! He had a fondness for Rottweilers, especially. The amount of the poor things that he killed... I even got one myself."

"Could I... borrow him?" Marshall asked. "I want to feed Harrison to the thing that he loved to hurt the most."

"An excellent plan!" said The Director. "Of course you can borrow him. But not right now. You need to prepare first."

"I will," Marshall nodded. "And you'll get the whole thing, right?"

"I will."

"Good. Now... I'd like to get back to my training session, please."

"Of course," said The Director. "Just remember to practise your lines, get plenty of rest, eat properly, and your shining moment will come soon!"

As he went away, Marshall sat back and shuddered. He decided to go over to his computer, looking for any old reports of animal abuse that he could find, hoping to find Harrison's face attached, since he couldn't find the name due to Harrison changing it.

Soon, he found the evidence that he needed, seeing video footage of Marks killing the animals, mostly preferring to flay them while they were still alive. It was rare that Harrison put a hound out of its misery, preferring that it suffer, and the sad whimpers, barks, and the last sad whine as the life was choked out of them made Marshall certain of two things.

The first was that he was more than sure that Harrison had to die.

The second was that he knew that he had to be the one to do it.

* * *

 **And that's another chapter in the bag! Another shorter one, but hey, I had fun writing it, as always. Marshall now has an extra pair of eyes to watch him and hands to help him in Isaiah. Because college life is never easy, right? Anyway, see you in the next one. Take care, and stay tuned.**


	10. You Never Forget Your First

Marshall sighed as he sat amongst the rows of college students, holding a pencil in his hand and tapping it back and forth on the paper that he was supposed to be writing on. Unfortunately, the teacher in question hadn't shown up for the twenty minutes since the lesson started, but he left his door open anyway. Said door was shut at the moment, but the handle moved, and in walked Harrison Marks.

"There's the bastard," said The Director. "I was wondering when he'd turn up."

"Sorry I'm late!" Marks said. "Mr. Garth, your normal teacher, came down with some food poisoning, and I was helping in another class before I could get here. Still, I have..." He paused to check his watch. "Eh, about forty minutes for this lecture. I know that a vast majority of you won't care, and that you're maybe not even here for an English course at all, but it is a requirement for some of you." He looked around and saw Marshall. "And we even have a new student here! You must be the young man who's here for the special week?"

"That I am," Marshall said.

"Well, how has college life treated you?" Marks asked.

"This whole week is pretty good," Marshall said. "Easy to get around, nice to look at, the teachers are cool... and I'm thinking that I'll try for another one. Who knows? I might even make a killing at this."

"Nice one," The Director said.

Marks chuckled. "Well, don't be nervous if you don't find out your power yet. It takes more time for some than it does for others. Now... on with the lecture!"

Most of the rest of the time passed, and Marshall took down notes in his paper. He didn't need to. He was, after all, there for an electrical engineering course, but his schedule was open and he needed something to pass the time.

Of course, it didn't hurt that said method of passing said time also allowed him to get an eye on his victim.

Marks seemed eager to do what he was doing. Almost happily so, going about his work on the English language, how it changed, and how differently it is spoken and spelled in different parts of the world. Marshall liked that part of Marks, he had to admit.

What he hated was the side of Marks that he came to know at first. The gory, disgusting side. The side that showed Marks skinning and torturing his own pets with nobody to witness it, giving him all of the power that he needed to do as he pleased.

"Keeping a good eye on him, I see," The Director said as the class was wrapping up.

"I don't like him..." Marshall said.

"Well, you're not supposed to. We should talk when we get back to your dorm. It's important."

"And that is why American English dropped the "U" from certain words, and why Canadian English and British English still keep it," Marks finished. The bell rang a few beats after that. "Well, looks like it's lunchtime! You kids have a great rest of your Friday, okay?"

The students shot out of the classroom through various doors, with Marshall looking back over Marks briefly before also leaving. He headed for his own dorm room and sat on the edge of his bed, looking over his notepad and blinking. What he thought were notes taken in the class soon flashed to violent cartoon images of a stick figure being drawn, laid down on his back and being ripped apart at all four limbs, almost drawn and quartered.

"Ow..." Marshall rubbed his head. "And here I thought that shit would stop happening..."

"Not often that a man of God swears," The Director said.

"It's kind of hard to keep a clean mouth when you've got a psychopath living in your head," Marshall replied.

"I'm not living in your head. I planted a little speaker inside so that you can hear me and I can hear you. If I wanted to control you fully, then I would have made you walk right up to Marks where he stood, taken that stick of chalk, and shoved it down his throat."

"You really don't like this guy, do you?"

"One of the rare things that we can agree on, I'm sure," The Director said.

Marshall nodded. "You know, I still haven't gotten my supplies yet."

"Oh, no, you do," said The Director.

"Then where are they?" There was a knock at the door, and Marshall opened it to reveal Isaiah, holding a box. "What's in the box?"

"Nice reference," Isaiah smiled.

"I don't... get it..." Marshall said.

"I'm going to ignore you saying that," Isaiah spoke. "To the rest of the college, this is a delayed package that Tails and Cream forget to send. They didn't have enough room in the car."

"And what is it really?"

Isaiah held the box out. "Open it and find out."

Marshall took the box from Isaiah and put it on his bed, opening the lid up and peering inside. "Oh... wow... the..."

"The pelts," The Director said. "All freshly cleaned. They took so long because... well, cleaning the filth off of a dead dog's skin takes a while, and I had a lot of people working on that as well."

"Why'd you work so hard on the smell?" asked Marshall.

"So that nobody would pick up on it," said Isaiah. "The less suspicion that follows us, the better."

"I mean... this is all well and good, but I don't see any dogs here," Marshall said.

"That's because there isn't any here," Isaiah said. "We're saving that for tonight. You have your plan ready to spring on Marks, right?"

"I do," Marshall nodded. "But still... I would like to know exactly where this is taking place."

"There's a shed out in the back garden, and a little building is attached to that as well," said Isaiah. "Neither of the two have barely any power running through them, and the college only use the buildings for gardening tools, some farming stuff, things like that. Even though it's rarely used, it's kept clean, much like the rest of this place."

"Looks like the college wants to live up to its friendly reputation," said The Director.

"So, how is the garden kept so clean anyway?" Marshall asked.

"They have some workers that clean the grass every couple of weeks. There's a shed in the college that people use because it's more convenient, and because it has power running through it, it makes things easier," Isaiah said.

"Wow. That is pretty smart, actually," Marshall said. "Still, why not tear down the old shed?"

"Just in case they still need it. There's shears and brooms and all sorts in there. If the power's out, they'll get some of the tried and true stuff from the old shed."

"Ah," Marshall said.

"Anyway, do you have a plan to draw Marks over there?" asked Isaiah.

"I've got something in mind," Marshall said. "We still have time for lunch, right?"

"About half an hour," said Isaiah. "Want me to go with you?"

"Nah, I'll be okay. You focus on getting the dog over here unseen for tonight, all right?"

"Yeah, sure," said Isaiah.

Marshall got up, making sure to hide the box under his bed before leaving, heading for the cafeteria. He saw Marks sat down, talking to a student who wasn't paying much attention in the class earlier, and Marshall went to grab some food before sitting at a table nearby.

"So, that's why we often used colons and semicolons. The former is used as a lead up to a statement, whilst the latter is used to list things," Marks said.

"Oh... okay, that makes sense. I have an essay due on Monday, and I was so sure that I had them right!" The student stood up. "Thank you, sir!"

"No problem," Marks smiled.

Marshall smiled and sidled over to take the student's seat. "Hey there."

"Oh, hey, Marshall," Marks said. "Do you need help too?"

"Actually, no, but I wanted to say thank you for giving such a great lecture," said Marshall, The Director taking over for him. "As you know, I'm new here, and even though I don't know what my power is yet, the fact that you're willing to help me learn means a lot to me, you know?"

"Well, thank you," Marks smiled. "Is... is there anything else?"

"Well... I was wondering if you could tutor me in private? Not about English, but about my powers. I find that I give it my best shot when I'm on my own, but having a teacher there might be useful."

"Oh... well, there isn't a rule against an assistant teacher helping a student here," said Marks. "I'd be more than happy to help."

"Wow. Um, thanks," Marshall said.

"What time do you want me to come to your dorm?" Marks asked.

"Actually, I know that the dorms have cameras," Marshall said. "I sort of... would rather do it somewhere a bit more secluded..."

Marks cleared his throat. "Marshall, if you're offering what I think you are, then-"

"No, I'm not," Marshall said. "Jesus, just because I'm bi doesn't mean I want to have sex with every girl and guy I see. Besides, I have a special lady waiting for me."

"Oh..." Marks said. "I... I apologise for assuming." He cleared his throat. "Where did you want to meet up?"

"At the old shed in the garden," Marshall said. "It seems quiet enough to practise in there without any distractions."

"Okay..." Marks nodded. "I mean, I'll help you. But why not go there on your own and practise?"

"Well, because I really want to try in front of a small audience," Marshall said. "And... you fit the bill. With you being an assistant teacher as well, there's a bit less pressure on me."

"Have you practised in front of family before? Friends, perhaps?"

"I have, but... I got nothing," Marshall said. "I want to rebuild my confidence before I try it for them again, you know?"

"I get you," Marks said. "Okay, you and I have a deal." He reached over to shake Marshall's hand, and after confirming their deal, the brown fox nodded and smiled.

"Thank you, sir. I'll see you when I see you."

"Oh, you never said the time," Marks pointed out.

"8:30. At the old shed."

Marks nodded. "See you then."

The fox left the man to it, taking his food with him up to his dorm and smiling at Isaiah. "Hey."

"Hey," Isaiah replied. "Good work."

"Thanks," Marshall said. He then saw a text on his phone, and smiled, going for his laptop. "Say... could you leave me alone for a bit?"

Isaiah smiled, knowing about Marshall's relationship with Cosmo via The Director. "Sure thing." He got up and pointed to the clothes drawer. "Oh, and there's something behind there for you too. For tonight. But don't get it out until then."

"Okay..." Marshall said as Isaiah left. He then smiled inwardly. "Could... could you leave me alone too?"

The Director sighed. "Oh, of course. You and your girlfriend have your fun."

Marshall chuckled, opening the laptop and answering the video call. "Hey there, babe."

"Hey there," Cosmo giggled. "Just wanted to check on my man as his first week of college winds down. Sorry I haven't been able to call much. Just been... really busy."

"It's fine," Marshall said. "Trying to work hard and get into college, huh?"

"Well... trying to get my mind off you not being here, but you're a hard guy to get out of my head," Cosmo blushed.

Marshall smiled. "Same for you. I think I even sung a song about you when I was working on some cars the other day."

Cosmo giggled. "Well, that is very nice of you to say..."

Marshall blushed at her giggle. "I... I really love your laugh. It sucks that we haven't been able to talk because of your studies. How's it been going?"

"Pretty well," Cosmo said. "Working hard, like you are." She smiled. "Doesn't matter where you go. You always put your mind to whatever you do, don't you?"

Marshall smiled sheepishly. "I try to..." He chuckled. "I can't wait for you to get here on your own. This place is amazing, and everyone's so nice. And I'm learning a lot too."

"Ooh... well, I don't doubt that, but something tells me that if I got there, we'd never leave each other's sides," Cosmo said.

"Wait... which part of that is supposed to sound like a bad thing?" Marshall chuckled.

They both shared a laugh in that, talking about the rest of their week and the plans for the weekend, with Marshall deciding to stay at college over the weekend and Cosmo planning to come up and visit him. After some more talking, they both left the call, but not without words of affection and longing for each other.

The rest of the day soon passed by as well, with Marshall getting a call from his parents and telling them about what had happened during the week. Well, the parts that he knew that he could tell them. He didn't bring up what was going to happen later, but he did make one note...

"Hey, um... could I have another week here?" Marshall asked.

"Still don't know your powers yet, huh?" asked Tails.

"No, not yet. It's not for lack of trying," Marshall chuckled.

"Well, considering the good words I just got from your electronics teacher, then yeah, you can have another week. We have the money."

Cream then giggled. "It's so good that you're learning!"

Marshall smiled. "Thanks. But what if... I dunno, what if I never learn it?"

"Well, they teach you at the college, right?" Tails asked.

"Sometimes. Other times I practise in private at my dorm. I think they want us to learn at random. I don't really know..."

"I think that's how it goes," Tails said. "Remember, it's supposed to activate on its own. Maybe having specific classes would make people more stressed out about it. And considering what you've been through lately, stress is the last thing that you need."

"True..." Marshall said. "So, you're willing to pay for the free week?"

"It's like we've said," Cream spoke up, "we'll pay for however many weeks it takes, okay?"

Marshall smiled and nodded. "Okay. Well, I need to get ready. Just going to chill and then get to sleep, maybe go to a class if I feel like it. Since I'm technically not an actual student, I have that free reign."

"Hey, if we're going to pay for you going there, then you'd best be a student," Tails joked. "All right, we'll talk to you again tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. I love you."

"Love you too!"

Both sides hung up, and Marshall sighed as he sat back in his bed, waiting for the night to roll around. When the time came, Marshall looked up at his alarm clock, sort of thankful that night classes were a thing at the college. As he stood up to leave, Isaiah entered.

"Jesus..." Marshall said. "Don't you knock?"

"You have a psychopath living inside your head and you want to question privacy?" Isaiah asked.

"The only reason that I have said psychopath living inside my head is because he put himself in it!" Marshall said.

"Actually, that's technically on you..." The Director spoke. "And you know it. Now, silence. Isaiah has something to tell you."

"Is this about the thing that he told me not to get out until tonight?" Marshall asked.

"That it is," Isaiah said. "Go and grab it."

Marshall stood and did so, reaching behind to find a suitcase. He pulled it out and laid it on his bed. Without getting to speak, he was urged on to open it, and so he did just that. He clicked the locks until the lid popped up, and he saw a pile of grey and black. He then picked up said pile and unfolded the clothes, smiling a bit.

"So... I guess this is my costume for tonight, huh?" Marshall asked.

"Yes, it is," The Director said. "Would you mind trying it on?"

"Well, I'd need privacy..."

"No problem," said Isaiah, turning to leave.

Marshall even felt The Director's presence vanish as well as he looked at the clothes. "All right... let's try this on..."

He got himself undressed, down to his boxers, and put on the suit. It was as pitch black as he remembered it being before, with the spots of heavy grey being the only other splashes of colour. It was the same as the previous killer to don the guise, it seemed, but fitted to Marshall's size. He was soon all done after adding the boots, which were combat-styled and black as the night sky.

"Okay... I'm good," he called out.

Isaiah walked back in, smiling. "Looks good on you, killer."

"Killer..." Marshall said. "I guess that I am the X Killer now, huh?"

"Well, there are two more things required for you to be the X Killer," said The Director. "One of those is the mask. And the other is claiming your first victim. You have both of those in sight of you. Go and take what is yours. Be the protagonist who we all know and love!"

Marshall shook his head, but couldn't help but smile a little bit as he reached for the yellow mask in his top drawer. He looked over its scarred, menacing appearance for a few moments before slipping it over his head and strapping it on.

He turned to look at himself in the mirror, and shook his head. "What am I doing..."

"A good thing," said The Director. "Now is not the time for second guessing or self doubts. For now, you have an antagonist to take care of. Go and take care of him."

Marshall nodded, going over to the secret compartment and opening it up with Isaiah's help. He grabbed himself the knife, just in case, as well as the pistol. He hid them, in one of the suit's many pockets before grabbing an Eminem hoodie and slipping it on.

"All right," he said. He removed his mask and put that away as well. "Let's go stop the bad guy."

Isaiah smiled. "You go on ahead. I'll be right with you."

Marshall nodded, leaving his dorm room. He went through the opposite end of the building, seeing only a few other students who didn't take much interest in him, thankfully. He checked his phone to see a message from Marks telling him that he was waiting.

Later, Marshall saw Marks waiting outside of the shed, and he gave a small wave.

"Oh, hey," Marks waved back. "So, you finally made it?"

"I'm on time, ain't I?" Marshall asked.

"That you are," said Marks. "All right, let's head in-"

He was cut off as someone grabbed him from behind, an arm wrapped around his throat to stop his breathing. Soon, Marks fell unconscious, and his body was dragged into the shed, with Marshall looking up at Isaiah.

"Kind of... dramatic..."

"Hey, it's my role," Isaiah said. "Got to play it to a tee or not at all, right?"

"Yeah... I guess you're right..."

The prefect shook his head. "All the stuff is ready inside. Let's get this show on the road."

Later, Marks himself woke up in a dark room thanks to some water splashed in his face. He choked and looked around. "Where... where am I?"

"Hello, Marks," said a disturbingly distorted voice.

"Who's there?" asked the teacher. "Show yourself! You won't get away with whatever you're planning!"

"Oh, just like you thought you could get away with what you've done in the past?"

"You don't know anything! Let me go, dammit!"

The lights suddenly switched on, and Marks squinted his eyes a bit. When he opened them, he saw various pelts of dogs, with fresh blood on them, and started to panic. The look of each skin scared him, almost looking directly into his eyes. He rocked back and forth in his chair, trying to pull at the restraints that were holding him down.

"No... you can't get me, Director! Not this time! I got away from you once, and I can do it again!" He grunted. "Tell me who you have working for you!"

"Oh, it's not him that you have to worry about," said the other voice again.

"Good thing I remember to install that voice thing..." The Director said to himself.

"Whatever you've been told, it's not true!" said Marks. "I didn't hurt anything! I swear!"

"Oh?" Marshall stepped out, the full armour and mask of the suit hiding his features well. "Are you sure? Because I have video evidence that says other wise..."

He walked over, pulling his phone out to show the videos of Marks hurting and killing the dogs. The teacher tried to turn away, but his face was grabbed and he was forced to look, his eyes turning white with fear.

"Let me go..." he mumbled.

"No..." Marshall said, The Director taking over again. "You're not here just to feel bad for what you did..."

"I'm... not?" asked Marks.

Marshall pulled a knife from his pocket. "Why did you do what you did? Hmm? What was so bad about working for The Director that you had to take to hurting animals?"

"I... I just felt so powerful..." said Marks. "Working for him was hell... but it was the good kind. We did whatever we wanted, as long as it was under his rule. You know that he's a fucking psycho, right? Just because of who you are... he'll kill you when he's done with you, you know! There are other teachers here who used to work for him!"

"I know that already," said Marshall. "But I will worry about them when I need to. Right now, you are my main focus."

"Look, there's nothing that I can tell you that you don't already know! Whatever The Director has said, it's all true! And even it I denied it, you have video of me! Just... please... send me to prison! I don't belong anywhere near this school!" Marks began breaking down and crying. "Please..."

"No." Marshall stood up. "Prison... prison is far too good for you. After all that you've done..." He smiled, taking his mask off and showing his face. "This is what you deserve."

He then turned his head and whistled, and two Rottweilers entered the room, stood on either side of him. Both dogs were snarling and growling, but didn't attack Marks yet. Marshall even knelt down to pet them gently. As he did, however, The Director left Marshall to it from there.

"Hehe..." the tall brown fox said. "You know why I like Rottweilers? It's not just because they're cute, despite how vicious they're portrayed to be, but it's also because they're good at following orders. They can fetch balls and sticks, roll over, play dead, and they have a tendency to have a big appetite." He then grinned so widely that the smile on his mask wouldn't have covered it. "And these ones haven't eaten for about a week. And they know what you did."

Marshall then snapped his fingers, and Marks tried to back away. "No... no! NO! THIS- MMF!"

Marshall taped his mouth. "Shh... you'll ruin it..."

The dogs rushed forwards and started with Marks' hands, easily tearing off his fingers before going for his hands. Marshall couldn't stifle a little laugh when the dogs knocked the chair back and started eating off Marks' face, leaving just a mangled pile of flesh and bits of bone and skull sticking out, with the left eyeball falling to the floor.

Marshall kept watching for the full twenty or so minutes that it took. Each crunch of flesh and bone, each snarling bite, each little gurgling scream that Marks gave out... Marshall didn't enjoy this. It was a gory, bloody, grim reminder of him doing what he had to to protect the people that he loved. And after those twenty minutes, and after some satisfied whines from the dogs, Marshall took another look at Marks.

His hands and feet were eaten, his clothes ripped, his face crunched and mushed down to a mess, his torso bloodied with guts hanging out the side limply like macabre ropes. The dogs themselves panted as they walked back over to Marshall, who pointed a thumb behind him to make sure that the dogs kept going as Isaiah walked in.

"Wow... what an amazing first performance," he smiled. "And a great way to close out the scene too!"

"It was... hard to watch..." Marshall admitted. "But seeing someone like him get his comeuppance in such an ironic way... that did make me feel a bit better."

"Really? No feelings of disgust or wanting to puke?"

Marshall shook his head. "I guess that seeing so much violence and gore up until all of this with Tails working his case... I got caught up in it, you know? I guess that it doesn't bother me as much as it should. And... that scares me..."

Isaiah shrugged. "Well, you can have your doubts about this as much as you want. As for me, I have a body to bag and burn, and dogs to take back with me."

"Unless you want to keep one," said The Director. "As a therapy thing, since you won't be able to make it to see Espio as much."

"Huh..." Marshall nodded. "Yeah, that could work. But don't the dogs need to be given by a therapist?"

"Well, the college knows about your anxiety anyway, so you'll probably be fine. Probably."

Marshall shrugged. "Do they have names?"

"Freddie and Georgie," said The Director.

Marshall smiled. "I'll pick Freddie." The dog in question barked a bit and walked over, getting some pets from Marshall before going back over to Isaiah.

"Best that I take him back anyway and bring him along maybe next week," said Isaiah. "Less suspicious than you walking around with him all of a sudden tomorrow from out of nowhere."

"Good thinking."

Isaiah bagged the body up. "And I'm going to stay here and clean up. For now, you go and get some rest."

"Yes, and we will go over your performance notes on Monday," said The Director. "You've earned a rest for the weekend."

Marshall nodded, putting the mask away and putting his coat back on to hide anything. He walked from the shed to the college, back up the steps, and to his form, once gain thankful for the lack of students, as most were either sleeping or studying. He shed the outfit, put it back in its secret spot, then went to shower before putting some pyjamas on and getting into bed, but not sleeping just yet.

"Dammit..." He rose up and grabbed the sleeping pills that Cream had recommended, taking them down with some water from a bottle that he had on his stand. "That'll help..."

"Try not to use too many of those," said The Director. "They could be good for other victims."

"I'll worry about those when I have to," Marshall said hurriedly. "Now, can I go to sleep?"

"Of course. Goodnight."

The Director then left Marshall's head, and the fox blinked out a few tears as he drifted to sleep.

* * *

 **And so, Marshall gets his first kill. Well, sort of. Hope that you all enjoyed his debut performance for The Director, as it's only going to get much darker and so on from here. Once again, I like writing this story, and I'm hoping to just update things more. I'll see you soon for whatever's next. Take care, and stay tuned.**


	11. One Down

A few days passed since Marshall murdered Marks. Well, he still wasn't sure if it was actual murder. It was more that he had it arranged and commanded a group of dogs to eat the man alive, with the sickening snarls and crunches of bone still stuck in his head since that night.

He hadn't written any of his keepsakes since he'd gotten to college, which was good because he had reasons for not being able to write. Sleeping pills to help him at night, studying hard, attending extra classes to fill the time... it had nothing to do with the psychopath living in his head.

Marshall was currently sat back on his bed, rubbing his eyes a bit as he spoke to someone on the phone. "So, how was your first day of therapy?"

"It was... good..." Hyder said. "Espio, the doctor, he was... really helpful. I haven't touched a drop of alcohol since, or a knife..."

"Or a gun?" asked Marshall.

"Or a gun," Hyder chuckled. "I... haven't really picked on anyone. I've been studying more, and I'm trying to get to college on a sports scholarship."

"Oh, really? What are you aiming for?"

"Well, I was thinking rugby at first, but... basketball seems like more my thing," Hyder said. "I've got the height for it, and I've recently discovered that I've got a mean long game."

Marshall laughed a bit. "I'm glad to hear that, man."

"Yeah... oh, um, how's your jacket?"

"Oh, it's fine. I wore it the other day," Marshall said. "I must admit, the dry-cleaners did a great job of washing the scent of puke away from it."

"That's good. How is... Cosmo? And your other friends and family?"

"They're all okay," Marshall said. "Cosmo and I are still going strong. I got to see her over the weekend too."

"Oh, really? You get up to much else?"

The brown fox paused. "Not a whole lot..." He cleared his throat. "I mean, got it arranged to go here for another week, but that's it."

"Well, heck, it's only Tuesday of week numero dos," Hyder smiled.

"Good pronunciation on that," Marshall smiled.

Hyder chuckled. "Thanks. But, yeah. Just... fucking go out there and kill it. You'll get your powers soon, dude."

"Thanks for the good words. I'll see you when I see you."

"Later."

The call ended, and The Director spoke. "Ah, Hyder. The man who bullied you for, let's see..."

"Three years? Maybe?" Marshall asked.

"Ah, who's keeping count?" said The Director. "What matters is, you're friends now. And I suppose that, if you have people that you can forgive, maybe I might too."

"And I'm going to guess that you don't?"

"And you would be guessing correctly! For you see, your first scene was perfect. Your delivery, your punctuation, the shocking twist of you taking your mask off... all so, so good. I'd give you an Oscar if I could, but not without netting my own as well."

"I'll put in the good word for you at the awards academies," Marshall said deadpan.

"Well, the time for joking is over," The Director said. "You've had your relaxation, and soon your next scene will be shot! And, I'll allow you to pick the actor you want to perform with!"

Marshall was about to ask, but he then got a knock on his door and answered it to see Isaiah. "Hey, fuzzy!"

"Hey..."

Isaiah showed a group of folders. "The choice is yours!"

Marshall looked up, thankful that the cameras in his room were cut in case anyone else caught wind. He then counted the folders in his hands, seeing four instead of three. "Wait, something isn't right here..." He opened the last one, seeing Marks' profile, but all of the information was gone, the only thing written being a red X over his face. "Whoa..."

"We worked all weekend on cleaning that bastard out of every database that he might have been associated with," said The Director.

"What, was cremating his body not enough?" Marshall asked.

"It's not enough to just wipe the physical slate clean," said Isaiah. "You do need to go a bit deeper into the research side if you really want to make an impact."

Marshall shook his head. "I don't see why I'm holding the folder, though."

"Just as proof of concept. The police will stop following any leads about him unless they know that he's missing," The Director said. "Which is what he will be. The only people to know the truth will be us in this room."

"Well, us two in this room and you in a different room," Marshall replied.

"Technicalities..." The Director chuckled. "But that's what makes you such a good performer, Marshall! You pay attention to little details like that."

Marshall sighed. "Okay, I get the metaphor, but I'm not an actor. I'm just doing what you're asking so that my family is safe."

"Hey, don't mess with my groove when I'm putting in the best work I ever have," The Director lightly scolded. "You are my actor. My performer. I need you to perform for me again soon before the other three get suspicious. So how about we shut out mouths and wait for you to make your choice."

Marshall looked over the folders, but instead of having the different folders of the three other teachers, he instead got one folder copied three times, albeit each one had different information. He looked at the name on each one as being Lola Rivera.

"Lola Rivera..." Marshall read out. "Known for being addicted to various substances... paid a lot of money and did... wow... did a lot of weird things to get that money just to feed her habits. Cocaine, marijuana, alcohol, heroin, sleeping pills, painkillers, speed... anything and everything..."

"She's a classic addict," said The Director. "And I hate her. She wasted her talents trying to offer her body to get what she wanted, and more importantly, she wasted money that I gave her on feeding her habit."

Marshall looked a bit closer, having a picture of the woman in question. She was in her early-to-mid thirties, with auburn hair that was tied back in a ponytail. and dark brown eyes which complimented her naturally tanned skin.

Facially, in that first picture, she looked fine, but as he looked over the next two, she looked more dishevelled, her hair a mess, her makeup nonexistent, her eyes more tired, bloodshot, and grimmer, her mouth covered in residue of alcohol in the second picture and possibly vomit in the third.

"Man... she is messed up..." Marshall said.

"Well, that first picture is still closer to how she looks now," Isaiah said. "Taking on a college schedule doesn't exactly leave her with time to shoot up and such."

Marshall nodded. "Sure seems that way." He shook his head. "Same rules apply for her as for Marks, right?"

"Right," said The Director. "Take her out when you can, but be prepared first. And remember the other rule..."

"Use their vice against them," Marshall said. "Wait..." He reached into his pocket, relieved to find a bag of marijuana there. "Huh... maybe I can use my own vice for this one too..."

"Oh, I love it when an actor ad-libs! Even more so when they bring their own props!" said The Director.

"Where is she right now?" asked Marshall.

"She's got a Spanish class right now," said Isaiah. "It's just ending."

"Then let's go say hi."

Isaiah smiled, taking Marshall with him to the Spanish class where, inside, Rivera was giving a lesson in perfect Spanish. Even Marshall, who had Mexican heritage, felt like he could have learned something from the teacher as she spoke, getting every accent right too.

"And that, amigos and amigas, is how to order takeout over the phone," Rivera laughed. "You all take care, okay?"

As some of the students took some last notes and the rest hustled and bustled out of the classroom, Marshall stepped in through them, thankful that Isaiah was hidden behind a wall so that Rivera wouldn't notice when she watched them leave.

"Excuse me?" Marshall asked. "Miss Rivera?"

"Oh?" She turned to face him. "Oh, Marshall, is it?"

"Yes," he said.

"How have you found college after your first week here?"

"Pretty good," Marshall smiled. "But that's not why I'm here. I was wondering, did you have a chance to give me a helping hand to learn my powers?"

"I wish I did, but that was my last class of the day," said Rivera. "So, I'm going on break."

"Oh, I didn't mean right now," Marshall smiled. "I meant, maybe Saturday? I don't have a lot of free time myself, so it'd be best to do it on the weekend."

"Sure," said Rivera. "I have a full schedule too. But until then, you just practise for yourself and see what pops up, okay?"

"Will do," Marshall said, checking his watch. "Well, I'd best get back and study. Next class starts later." He turned and walked away. "Take care."

"You too!"

Marshall chuckled a bit to himself, stopping. "Oh, say, do you smoke?"

"Um... s-sometimes..." said Rivera. "Been trying to quit lately..."

"Well, how about something that isn't tobacco?" He gestured to the pocket in his jeans, pulling the seal of the bag up to show the greenery inside.

"Marshall, you shouldn't be showing that here!" Rivera scolded. "But, when we both have the chance... of course."

"Sweet. All right, now I'm really going to go."

He turned and left, with Isaiah in two as more students came by for another lesson. "That was too close," said Isaiah.

Marshall sighed. "That wasn't me. The Director took over and said most of that. Heck, if it weren't for him, I never would have offered for Rivera to share a spliff with me."

"Oh, come now," said The Director. "Did you expect to bring your own prop and not have to use it?"

"That was the hope, yes," said Marshall.

"Well, tough luck. I'm directing, so when I say use what you have, then you do just that." He chuckled. "I guess you should smoke 'em if you've got 'em."

Marshall sighed, making it the rest of the way back to his room without much more talking. He closed the door behind him, sitting down and reaching for his marijuana to put it in a drawer. As he looked down at the bag, he saw it start to shift, with the contents transforming from some marijuana stems to a small pool of blood with a severed finger inside.

Marshall dropped the bag in a panic. "Jesus..."

"Are you all right?" The Director asked.

"Yeah, I'm good," Marshall said. "Just seeing things that aren't there again."

"Well, me and Isaiah will leave you be until your next class."

"Thank you..." Marshall said.

"Take care," said Isaiah, leaving the fox's room.

The Director soon cut off his connection, and Marshall sighed to himself. He hadn't had any nightmares since that first night, nor did he want them. But that was more concerning to him, the fact that he wasn't having bad dreams despite feeling regret for what he did.

"It's to help my family..." he spoke. "It's to save lives... no... it's to save my own... it's to save lives that I actually care about..." He shook his head, picking up his phone. He called up Tails' number. "Please, pick up..."

"Marshall!" Tails said. "What's wrong, son? Having trouble?"

"I'm... not feeling too good..." Marshall said.

"Well, what is it?"

"I'm... kinda nervous..." Marshall lied. "That... well... that I might never learn my powers." More lying.

"Marshall, what have me and Cream said? Everything will be fine. You haven't been bullied or gotten into fights, no?" Tails asked.

"N-No..." Marshall replied, shuddering. That one wasn't technically a lie. "I just... worry..."

"We've said it before, and we'll say it again, and we'll probably be saying it again some other time," Tails said. "We'll pay for each week that you need, okay? We love you, and we know that it takes time."

Marshall nodded. "Yeah... thank you, Tails... dad... I still can't decide..." He ended with a chuckle.

"It's no problem," Tails said. "And, hey, at least you haven't been bullied or anything." He then paused. "So... how are you sleeping?"

"Pretty well," Marshall said. "I took some pills on Friday night. Just a long study, you know?"

"I know," Tails said. "Just try not to go overboard or anything."

"I'll try," Marshall replied.

The yellow fox nodded. "I know you will. Anyway, I need to go and get back to work. I love you, son."

"I love you too."

Both then hanged up, and Marshall laid back in his bed. On the other end, Tails was driving in his police car during the call, on his way to the crime scene by the two trees to help clean up anything that needed to be done. He saw a couple more vehicles there and some cops around the taped off area.

He pulled his car up onto the curb, locking it as he left. He went over to the crime scene, but saw that it was still not cleaned yet. "What seems to be the issue?"

"We're still working on it," said one of the other officers. "The leaves keep blowing back, so we can't get it all cleaned. And a leaf-blower is a bad call, because we could blow away evidence."

Tails nodded. "That does make sense." He looked and saw some of the things there, seeing the X shaped blood splatter. "Huh... still there..." He looked around, lifting leaves and moving junk around to try and help, even using his tails as a tool to help with the job. "You guys having any luck?"

"We got some bits and pieces, but the killer has kept it really clean," said another officer. "He really didn't want anyone coming across this way."

"He could have gotten rid of his calling card at any time," Tails said. "And since he didn't, I'm thinking that he's moved on now."

"Let's just bag what we can and go," said the other officer. "No point in sticking around."

Tails looked at the entrance between the two trees and wandered over, seeing some more blood splatters. He leaned down and touched them, feeling that they were fresh ones this time. Also, they weren't on the leaves, but on the ground underneath them, leaving the stains smudged a bit.

"Or maybe there is," Tails said. "There's some blood over here..." He kept looking around the leaves, finding a small trail. "Hang on... I might have something."

"Well, hurry it up! We're going soon!"

Tails shook his head, lifting more leaves to see more of a small trail. Some of the leaves blew back over, but Tails used his instincts and memory to remember where he'd been. It was only a small trail at the back of the trees, but he followed it, soon finding what he needed to under some leaves.

"Ugh... guys, I found something, but you might not like it!" he called.

The others came over. "What is it?"

Tails lifted a leaf, showing two mangled fingers in the shape of an X. "Judging by the blood nearby, they look fresh."

One of the officers came over with an evidence bag to put the fingers in, looking at them curiously. "Huh... weird..."

"What?" Tails asked.

"The prints were burned off. Or chewed off. Or both. Either way, we won't be able to identify this guy."

"Fuck..." Tails grumbled. "This sick bastard wasn't happy with just normal killing. Now he's full on dismembering?"

"If it helps," the officer said, "there looks like some traces of other stuff here. Might be worth taking down to forensics."

"Let's hope so," Tails said. "Just when we were having a nice quiet week... the press is going to love this one."

"So, what's our next move?" the others asked.

Tails sighed. "We'll have to keep the police tape up for another little while and keep it guarded. And before anyone complains, I know, it's a really shitty situation. But we might not have a choice." He then shuddered more. "And I'll have to do first guard duty since I wasn't able to help much."

"Are you kidding? You found new evidence! This could lead to something!"

"Or the killer could come back and hack us all up within seconds of getting this to forensics," Tails said. "I'm going to stay on guard. But I want one of you to stay too, just as a sniper."

"None of us are snipers," said one of them. "We mostly dig up bones and blood and what have you."

"And I'm not a forensics guy, but I still found some fresh blood and some messed up fingers."

"Very funny," said the officer. "We'll go and take this stuff back and call you a sniper on the way there."

"I appreciate that," Tails said. "Thank you."

The officers nodded. "We've cleaned up everywhere too, so you don't really have to do anything except for wait."

Tails nodded, seeing the officers back to their cars, evidence bags full of blood and human body parts in tow. He watched as the cars drove off, following each other closely and giving a wave as they honked back in return before going back over to the two trees.

He looked up at them, smiling. "You know, if I didn't know that this place was a murder scene... I'd call this quite nice. Almost peaceful." He then pulled out his phone, dialling Cream's number.

"Hello?" the rabbit asked.

"Hey," Tails said. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just had lunch," Cream smiled. "Kind of bored with not a lot to do, but hey, there you go."

Tails chuckled. "Just got a call from Marshall earlier too."

"Oh? How is he enjoying it?" Cream asked.

"He got a bit... worried," Tails said. "Not about bullies necessarily, more about him never learning his power."

"Do you think that he will?" Cream asked.

Tails paused for a bit. "Yeah. Of course I do. He's a hard worker, he's a good kid, and he's going to knock it out of the park."

Cream giggled. "How about not using the same words that you've used before?"

Tails smiled. "He's... a good man. I've seen him stay up entire days to study for what he wants to do. I've seen him try medical stuff and scientific stuff, and I've seen him fail at those before he tried again, figured out what he did wrong, and went at it again to pass those tests." Tails smiled. "I've never seen someone work so hard at something that they didn't care much for only to use that knowledge to get better at what they actually want to do."

"He's going to help a lot of people," Cream smiled.

"Indeed he is," Tails said. "Speaking of helping people... something came up."

"What is it?" Cream asked.

"We found new evidence at the two trees where those bodies were found."

"What kind of evidence?"

"Two mangled up fingers that don't belong to any of our current victims," Tails said. "We might need to stay here for a bit. And I'll be taking first watch."

"So... that's why you called..."

"No," Tails said. "I wanted to call you about how Marshall was doing. That's why I led with that." He rubbed his face. "I'm sorry..."

Cream sighed. "Tails... you've barely had time off with the case of the killer... in fact, the more you're not here-"

"The more you worry," Tails said. "I know. I worry too." He then loosened up a bit, hoping that Cream would to the same. "Besides, it's just some light guard duty. Not a lot of killers come back to the same scene, but I'll have snipers and other backup ready."

Cream smiled. "That does make me feel better..."

Tails blushed. "I promise, I'll be home when I can. First I've got to stand watch here, then I'm off to forensics to check things over and make sure that things are going smoothly. I don't know how long I'll be."

Cream nodded. "I understand. Just... be careful, okay? I love you."

"I love you too," Tails replied. "Goodbye."

"Bye."

They both hung up, and Tails took another look around the scene of the crime. "Seriously, what's so special about this place?"

* * *

 **And that's another one! I don't know why it took so long to write it, but it is mostly filler, and hey, it's my shortest chapter so far, so yay for that! I hope you liked it, and there is more to come soon. I'll see you on the next one. Take care, and stay tuned.**


	12. Fingers Crossed

"So, what do you have for me?" Tails asked the forensics team.

"We don't have anything concrete," said the head of the team. "But the fingers were definitely not ripped off... they may have been cut off after the body was destroyed by... whatever it was that did it..."

Tails shook his head. "We don't have time to waste. Do you know what did it?"

"We don't, but-"

"Then you're next to useless," said Tails. He reached and took the bag with the fingers still inside it, walking back out to the main hall of the police precinct. "All right," Tails said as he looked around the hall. "I want more security out by those two trees. And someone get me the mortician."

"Whoa, slow down," said Honey.

Tails sighed. "We just got some vital information, and that bastard is back out there toying with us! I can't slow down!"

"Okay, is this just a thing that foxes do?" asked Honey. "First, Marshall stays up way too late on some nights to study, and now you're turning down sleep to catch some masked psychopath?"

Tails shook his head. "If we don't catch the masked psychopath, then more people are going to wind up dead!"

"Well, we don't know that it was the X Killer this time," said Honey. "What evidence do you even have to support this?"

Tails showed the bag with the two fingers in it. "The Killer is probably getting desperate to hide the people that he kills, but he still wanted us to know that he's still around. Looks like that time off that he head was just him coming up with a new plan of attack..."

"Then we need to come up with one too," said Honey. "Come to the break room and have a drink with me, and maybe some food and we'll talk it out, okay?"

The yellow fox nodded. "Yeah."

The cat smiled, and she and Tails turned for the break room. Honey got the drinks prepared, making the one for Tails just how he likes it, and also got some sandwiches as well, and the two took a seat, seeing some other officers clamouring around outside.

"Good thing we're in here," said Honey. "I would not want to be caught up in that right now."

"Then maybe you should leave," Tails chuckled. "I'm probably going to pull you into it."

"Well, you're my partner on the force and someone I can trust," Honey said. "Whatever you're going to be pulling me in to, I'm fine with it. But you need to slow down and take a breath first. And a sip."

Tails seemed a bit confused before smiling sheepishly and drinking some of his coffee. "Mmm... every time."

"Well, you tell me how your wife makes it for you. Is my coffee better than hers?"

"Hers is made with more love, and yours is made with friendship," Tails said.

"What are you, twelve?" Honey laughed, as did Tails. "Seriously, what goes through your head on a day like this?"

"I just worry about Marshall. Since he went to college, neither Espio nor Father Zachary have talked to him. I might try and arrange that this weekend."

Honey nodded. "The stress of college can add a lot of unnecessary weight to someone's shoulders. It'd be good to have him talk to his therapist first, I think."

"They're both kind of therapists," said Tails. "Just that one believes in a higher power."

Honey smiled. "I used to believe that too. Nowadays, seeing what's happening... I'm not so sure."

Tails smiled. "The only reason you started believing was because I helped you get into this place."

Honey giggled. "And that's how we became best friends. The end!"

"And scene," Tails said. "Going back to what you said earlier... I'm not so sure that it's just a fox thing. I've seen Cream working really hard lately too just to keep herself together. She knows what's out there. Putting on that brave of a face and being that strong of a person... that takes hard work."

"Do you think she's nervous? asked Honey.

"I know she is. But we all are." Tails shrugged. "If we weren't, we wouldn't get anywhere."

"Huh..." Honey said. "Maybe that's it."

"What's it?"

"Maybe the 10 Killer or X Killer or whatever... what are we calling him this week?"

Tails chuckled. "It doesn't really matter. X Killer sounds cooler, though."

"Well, whichever one," Honey smiled. "So... maybe he knows that we're waiting it out. He knows that we're trying to play the long game."

"What are you getting at, exactly?"

"We go after him," said Honey. "Whatever tracks and traces we have, whatever leads we've got, we follow them until there's nowhere else to go. And even then, we look for a way to extend that lead, talk to more witnesses, find more evidence, and get more people involved."

Tails smiled. "It's not a half bad plan, but we don't have a lot of places to start."

"Well, you've got new evidence in your pocket," said Honey. "That seems like the best place."

"And what if it leads to nothing?"

"Then we don't quit," said Honey with a shrug and a smirk. "We take what we have and we follow it for as long as we can, just like I said."

Tails smiled. "You have that weird effect on people."

"What? Being right?"

"Let's go with that."

The two laughed a bit, ate their lunch, and finished their drinks, before leaving the break room. They disposed of their trash on the way down to the morgue, where they saw Noam looking at his computer over files of the victims.

"Hey, guys," he said, not turning around to see them.

"Noam," Tails nodded. "What are you up to?"

"Just looking over those files again from Carlita and such," Noam shrugged. "Trying to see if there's more of a connection between them. I ran it through every database I could think of, and they're all clear."

"Well, worry not," Tails said. "We have something you might want to take a look at."

"It had better be a full human body," said Noam. "At least six feet tall too."

"We... don't have that exactly..." said Honey.

Tails got out the bag that he had, showing it to Noam. "These were found at the crime scene of the two trees, where the last victim's blood splatter was found."

Noam looked at the bag. "It's in an X shape... oh, well, that's fucking fantastic. The Killer's back."

"Is... is that sarcasm?" said Tails. "Because last time I checked, if it weren't for dead bodies, you wouldn't really have a job..."

"It's honestly more of a mixed feeling," Noam admitted. "But it stops me from being bored on my ass." He then looked at the bag. "Where'd you get these? I thought forensics were looking at them?"

"That's where I got them from," Tails said. "I trust you more than I trust them."

"Yes, because morgues are the exact same things as forensics rooms," said Noam.

Tails smiled. "They were done with it, anyway."

"He snatched it from them and called them useless," Honey clarified.

Noam smiled. "He's not wrong. You want to deal with the dead, you come to the guy who looks at them for a living. But... a pair of mutilated fingers isn't exactly a fully grown human."

"Can you pick up anything from them? The fingerprints seem to still be there."

Noam opened the bag, putting the fingers on a microscope. After some scans of the fingerprint, the computer went through a large list of people, but then stopped with a message saying "NO AVAILABLE MATCHES" in big red lettering.

"That's... strange..." Noam ran them again, but the same message appeared. "Damn... looks like this victim didn't exist..."

Tails sighed. "Something isn't right..."

Honey put a hand on Tails' shoulder. "Hey, you can't always strike gold. Remember what we said earlier?"

"We take a lead and see it through," the yellow fox nodded.

The cat smiled. "That's right. Let's go around the block, ask around to see if anyone saw anything, and see what we can put together on that board of yours."

Tails chuckled a bit. "We'll do that later. The place is still guarded by others."

"Ah, yeah, they got in another team after the first one was done," said Honey. "That means that Marshall's college day could be done soon. Maybe you should try to arrange for him to see his therapists."

Tails chuckled at that. "Yeah... maybe." He turned to Noam. "Sorry to bug you about this."

"It's no problem," Noam said. "It's what I'm here for. And besides, the fingers will go nicely with the collection of X related symbols that the killer's left behind."

Tails and Honey both took out their phones to take pictures, and the latter spoke. "You're right."

"You're lucky I like you," Noam smiled. "All right, get on out of here."

Tails and Honey nodded, heading to their office room and looking over the fox's board. They had their new pictures printed, as well as more recent clippings and other pieces of evidence, and tried to tie them all together again.

"The hardest part of this is," said Tails, "we don't know who the Killer is working for. He's not associated with any mobsters, drug dealers, traffickers, or anything like that. But some part of me refuses to believe that he operates fully alone."

"Well, nobody's really seen what he looks like," said Honey. "For all we know, it could very well be a network of different people with different motivations. Maybe the victims knew the killers beforehand, and maybe they wronged them somehow, leading to the killers doing what they did."

"But what did Carlita, her brother, and his boyfriend do that was so bad?" asked Tails. "So they caused a bit of noise at their apartment building. So fucking what? Does the killer just not like heavy metal?"

Honey giggled at that. "Maybe he doesn't. But... it is still odd. There's nothing to suggest bigotry, no vendetta against any one of them. If that were the case, he wouldn't have gone through the trouble of killing all of them."

"So that leaves the killer covering his tracks," Tails said. "But to what ends? I mean, besides murdering people."

Honey shrugged. "Well, it's not like he's just going to stop and tell us."

Tails nodded. "I guess you're right." He reached for his phone. "Okay, let's take a break and workshop this later. See where we land. I want to talk with Marshall for a bit."

Honey nodded. "You got it. I've got some files that are a bit overdue, so I won't bug you."

"Sure," Tails said. "Oh, and, thanks for your help. I really appreciate it."

"You want to thank me? Make me a coffee," Honey giggled.

Tails smiled and nodded, going to the machine to make Honey a drink. He got himself one as well, giving Honey hers before heading outside into a hallway, his phone in one hand and his drink in the other as he typed in Marshall's number.

Soon, his son picked up. "Hey, dad!"

"Marshall," Tails smiled. "You seem... rather chipper, if anything."

"Yeah, just had a good day at college," Marshall said. "Almost done. It's the second break, and I've got a lot of free time anyway, so I'm all good."

"You up to much?"

"Not really," Marshall said. "Just walking around town and taking a look around. Ooh, hot-dogs..."

Tails chuckled. "I'm glad I caught you in such a good mood, because I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Am... am I in trouble?" Marshall asked. "Oh, extra ketchup, please."

"No, you're not," Tails said. "But I've noticed that you haven't talked much to Espio or Father Zachary. Is this true?"

Marshall sighed. "It... it is. I guess I haven't found much time, and all the free time that I have had I've spent mostly on my own or talking to family."

"Or with that Isaiah fellow, right?"

"Yes, also true," Marshall said. "But he's mostly there to help students in general. I mean, he's not even with me right now, so."

Tails smiled. "Ah, right. So, how about it? Want to see them this weekend?"

Marshall smiled. "I'd like that. It sucks that I haven't found time for therapy."

"Maybe, but it's saved us money for you to go to keep going to a college that isn't technically a college," Tails joked.

"It's a diet college," Marshall said. "No wonder I feel thinner."

Tails smiled. "All right, I'll get right on that."

"Sure. Oh, um, how are things with the investigation?"

"We have something new. But it's not concrete. We're going to try and step it up a notch too," Tails said.

"Good thinking," Marshall said. "I... I really hope you catch that guy. What he's doing is... just wrong..."

"Are... are you okay?" Tails asked.

"Yeah. Just... seeing what he's done... from photos and such, I mean."

"It'll all be okay in the end," said Tails. "You just focus on your college that isn't technically a college, okay?"

Marshall chuckled. "Okay. Love you."

"Love you too."

Tails hanged up, and Honey joined him. "Ready to go ask some questions?"

"Yep."

After Marshall put down his phone, he sighed, sitting down on a bench to enjoy his hot-dogs. "You know, whatever you have to say, you may as well get it over with."

The Director chuckled. "Your performance value only serves to increase. And I'll even give you a pass on your choice of food."

"I was hungry," Marshall said with a shrug. "And besides, an actor can eat what he wants."

"That is true. And your last performance with Marks was fantastic, so you have earned it. But you do need to prepare for the next act. The sequel."

"You know, they say the sequel is never as good as the original, but I disagree," Marshall said. "The How To Train Your Dragon movies, 21 and 22 Jump Street, the John Wick movies... I guess I could make this work somehow."

"You even listed some classic examples of worthy sequels," The Director laughed. "So, you'd best finish your food, then talk to Lola while you can. She takes an early break to... indulge. She'll have about six minutes left by this point."

Marshall smiled, eating his food and drinking a can of soda that he brought with him too. He got rid of the rubbish and headed back to his college with what little time that he had left. He walked up to the building and turned to see the teacher in question stuffing out a cigarette.

"Ah, Miss Rivera. Good to see you."

"Oh, M-Marshall!" Rivera panicked in extinguishing her cigarette. "What... what brings you back here?"

"I still have a week of college to fill out," Marshall chuckled. "I was just about to head inside, but... there's still time for a break. And besides, I don't have to go to a next lesson for the next period if I don't want to."

"I'll be sure to notify Isaiah to give you that free time," The Director said.

Rivera smiled. "Neither do I. I have plenty of free time myself."

"Then why are you trying to put out that smoke like you just set fire to the building?"

"Well, remember when I told you I was trying to quit? I... lied. I can't. I have problems, Marshall. But I'm trying to cope."

"Well, hey, for all I know, your problems could be deadly serious," Marshall said. "I'm not one to judge. I mean, after all..." He reached into his pocket, pulling out the weed. "I still have this."

Rivera shrugged. "I suppose that I can still hold out on going back to work for a little bit longer."

Marshall smiled, rolling up some joints for both himself and the teacher. "Let's go somewhere a bit more secluded."

"Of course."

The two headed to a different part of the outside of the building of which Marshall was not familiar, but as he saw some other students clear out, followed by Rivera telling them to get back to class, he didn't feel as worried about it.

"This is a nice little corner you have here," Marshall aid.

Rivera smiled. "If I wanted to, I could get away with so many drugs. I know that it's wrong, but... I'm a mere slave to my vices. And while I do try to quit on all of it, I can't bring myself too. Something about smoke in my lungs, booze in my liver, a needle in my veins... oh, it feels so good... and I'd give anything for any of it..."

Marshall smiled. "You really are honest about all of this. May I ask why?"

"Because I have to be so straight-laced with everyone else," said the Spanish teacher. "But with a new student like you, a student trying to learn his powers, I feel more... free."

Marshall nodded. "You know... I have been meaning to try other stuff to calm myself down. Weed and sleeping pills just aren't doing it for me. And I even have a guy who can get me what I want. And, if you'd like, what I want could also become what you want."

Rivera blushed. "I'd like that. But... I'd never cheat."

"No, I didn't mean that," the brown fox chuckled. "I just have a friend who can help."

"Oh, I see."

"But, now that you mention it, we would need somewhere secluded. Somewhere that isn't used often."

Lola raised an eyebrow. "Like where?"

"Like, maybe, that old shed? Nobody goes there anyway, and I don't mean to make a false assumption, but since you know where to hide drugs, I'd have to assume that you know how to clean them out before getting caught soon." Marshall smiled. "Is that about right?"

"Yes, it is," Rivera winked. "So, you're sure that your guy can deliver? Maybe... I could meet him?"

"He doesn't stick around one place for long," Marshall said. "I barely even know him, to be honest. But he trusts me, so meeting a new person wouldn't be good. Just let me bring the goods, and meet me let's say... Sunday? About 8:30 pm?"

Rivera nodded. "I've got no trouble with that."

Marshall nodded, and he heard his phone vibrate, so he looked at it. "Shit... I've got to head to my dorm. My prefect is pretty pissed at me."

"I should head back too," said Rivera. "And we barely even got started on these..." She gestured to the joints.

"Hey, don't worry about it. When the times comes, we'll be able to enjoy these as much as we can," Marshall said.

"I guess you're right about that." Lola extended a hand. "To confirm the deal."

Marshall nodded, shaking back, and the two soon headed into the building. Lola made a beeline for her classroom to start her next lesson, only being a few minutes late, while Marshall made it back to his dorm room, opening it to have Isaiah feign scolding him.

"And why are you so late?" Isaiah asked. "What were you doing?"

Marshall looked out of the peephole of his door, giving a thumbs up. "Okay, we're good."

Isaiah chuckled. "How'd it go with her?"

"Pretty much flawless," said Marshall. "Got her to agree to a meeting this weekend at the shed again."

"Hmm... smart choice," said The Director. "However, for your third victim... you should pick a different locale."

"That's if I get to the third one," said Marshall.

"I have faith that you will. And for what I have planned, a different place of work might benefit your performance a bit better."

"Okay..." Marshall said. "Anyway, yeah, meeting at the shed at 8:30 at night. So, I guess that's when the sequel is."

"Ah, and a finer venue couldn't be picked for someone as tricky as her," said The Director.

Marshall chuckled. "I'll need drugs, though. I did promise that. And it doesn't matter what. You can even get booze through, if possible. She's addicted to a lot of stuff, so let's take that and use it against her, just like last time."

"I think you're starting to get more and more into this," said The Director.

"Call it method acting, I guess," the brown fox shrugged. "But, yes. I need whatever I can use, and since she seems to have used everything at least once, then that'll be our weapons of choices."

"You mean yours," said Isaiah.

"Yeah... I guess," Marshall shrugged. "But, yeah, that's the plan."

"I've got no troubles with it," said The Director.

"Me neither," said Isaiah. "Now, I imagine that the main star wants to be left alone?"

"I'd like that," Marshall said. "Let me enjoy the rest of my day. Maybe I could get some power practise in too. Who knows?"

The other two chuckled, leaving him be. As they did, Marshall went to his bathroom, immediately gripping the edge of the sink and looking up at the mirror. He panted to himself, breathing heavily and looking inside the cabinet behind the mirror. He looked at the sleeping pills, and an idea came to his mind.

"Okay... maybe... maybe I can make this one work..." He put them back, going to his bed to get some rest.

* * *

 **And another one be done! So, quick warning, I plan on getting one more chapter of this done, and two more of Love And War before Christmas because... well, I've got some presents in mind for you guys. You'll like them. But that's for the future. As for now, I hope you liked this chapter, and I'll see you in the next one. Take care, and stay tuned.**


	13. Under My Skin

Marshall, sat in his room again, was playing with a tennis ball, throwing it up to the ceiling before catching it again as it fell. In his other hand was his phone, with Cosmo on the other end, and the brown fox felt at ease, not having The Director in his head at the moment or Isaiah being around. Just him and her.

"So, you stayed up that late?" asked Cosmo.

"Yeah," Marshall shrugged. "I mean, if I'm going to stay up for a weekend, I may as well be productive, you know?"

"That's true," Cosmo giggled. "I'm so proud of you."

"I'm kinda proud of me too," Marshall shrugged. "I mean, all this work has been sort of paying off."

"Really?" Cosmo asked. "You know your power?"

Marshall shook his head. "I'm not quite there yet, but... I feel like it's coming closer, you know?"

Cosmo blushed. "Well... I think I might know mine..."

"What is it?" Marshall asked, sitting up and throwing the ball at the wall.

"Well, you remember that plant I used to have?"

"Oh, yeah," Marshall said. "That really cheap one that died in about a month, right?"

"Tact. Nice," Cosmo deadpanned. "Well, I tried again to help it grow, using water and adding more soil too. But I got angry, and I reached out, and... I felt something flow from my hand. The plant started to actually bloom again."

"So... you got angry at it, and it worked?"

"I don't think it was anger," Cosmo said. "I guess that part of it turned into passion. Anger can do that, under the right circumstances."

"So, you might be ready soon, huh?" Marshall asked. "You could go to college?"

"Actually... I have an interview next Friday," Cosmo admitted. "My studies showed for themselves, and since I'm a year younger than you, I'm technically not ready for college."

Marshall smiled. "That's honestly really great news, babe."

"But the college that I want to go to isn't far from yours," Cosmo smiled. "Maybe I could visit you on the weekend?"

Marshall chuckled. "I'd like that, honestly. It feels like it's been so long since I've seen you."

"Well, we could have a date night next week?" Cosmo suggested.

"Like... what?" Marshall asked. "That pizza place again?"

"No, like... a real one," said the green girl.

The brown fox smiled. "I'd like that. I'll ask my parents if they know any good spots. They're better at that sort of stuff than I am."

Cosmo giggled. "Well, as long as you dress nicely for me, I'm fine."

"Just so we're clear, what are the limits on the date?" Marshall asked.

"Nice place," said Cosmo. "Doesn't have to be a five star restaurant. It doesn't even have to be a place for us to get food, really."

Marshall smiled. "Well, we could try the lake again? That didn't go so well last time, owing to... well, you know..."

Cosmo nodded. "I know." She paused a bit. "How is Hyder?"

"He's getting better, slowly," Tails said. "He knows that the therapy is going to help a lot, and he is patching things up with people now."

"Yeah, I heard about that," Cosmo said. "He mended a fence with some kids he used to pick on because they were smaller than him."

"I was going to say, I hope that the jocks don't turn on him because he's trying to change his ways, but the dude can make copies of himself, so he'll be fine," Marshall said.

"He will be," Cosmo agreed. "As will you at college. So... anything going down tonight?"

"Just some late night studying and practising my powers," Marshall replied, dropping his tennis ball. "Well, it's more like practising to see if I even have powers."

"You do," Cosmo smiled. "You just need the right outlet."

"Well, there's not a lot here to make me angry," said Marshall. "So, I can't really turn that into passion. Plus, I'm too lazy and tired to be angry because I'm working so much."

"You'll find a way," Cosmo giggled. "Anyway, it is getting pretty late, and we both need sleep."

"Hey, it's the weekend," Marshall smiled. "We can have some fun, at least. Don't just leave me out to dry."

Cosmo smirked. "Well... how about this?" She stopped the call, and after a few seconds, Marshall found something in his inbox, and he saw a picture of a mostly nude Cosmo, holding a towel up to cover her modesty.

Marshal gulped. "Wow..."

"That help?"

"A lot," Marshall replied. "Actually... gimme a second..."

He quickly rushed over to the bathroom, phone still in hand. He took off his shirt, and looked over his muscles, which had become more defined since he started training more to try and learn his powers. He didn't flex them, but made them known as he took the photo in the mirror, soon sending it over to Cosmo.

He slipped his shirt back on and went back to his bed. "You like?"

"A lot..." Cosmo smiled. "Mmm... Marshall..."

"Cosmo... god... you're so beautiful..."

"Well... hopefully that picture will distract you from studying a little bit..." Cosmo giggled.

Marshall smirked. "It might..." He then heard a knock on his door. "Crap... I need to go..."

"Who is it?"

"My prefect coming to check in on me." Marshall sighed. "I'm sorry, Cosmo..."

"No, I understand," Cosmo giggled. "Just don't forget next week, okay?"

"Yes, next week, big date," Marshall nodded. "I got it covered. Bye bye."

"Goodbye, handsome."

The two then hanged up, and Marshall got up, going over to his door to let in Isaiah. "What?"

"It's almost time to take your Spanish oral exam," said Isaiah drily. He gestured to the bag next to him. "And I have here all the supplements needed to coerce Lola into helping you."

"Yeah, great cover," Marshall said. "Get the hell in here!"

"I'm sorry, Marshall," said The Director. "Were we interrupting something?"

"You didn't see or hear any of that, right?" asked Marshall.

"No, no, I promise," said The Director. "I keep true to my word when it comes to your privacy."

"Well, you're still in my head all the time," Marshall reminded. "It's still creepy."

"I know, but it's nowhere near as worse as what will happen next," said The Director. "So, are you ready to go out again?"

"I have no choice," said Marshall. "Same as last time?"

"Not necessarily," said The Director. "You'll be trying a more... risky area."

"What do you mean?"

"You're going to meet her at her office," said Isaiah. "She shuts the cameras off when college is over, so you won't get caught. And neither will we."

"Just slip something into her drink, and it'll knock her out, after which point Isaiah will step in and gather her up to take her to the shed," The Director added.

"It's all set up over there," Isaiah said. "So let's get going."

Marshall nodded, and he was guided by Isaiah over to Lola's office. It wasn't a long walk, or at least it didn't feel like one to Marshall as he just wanted this over and done with as quickly as possible. They were on the same building floor, and the prefect knocked on the door.

"Come on in!" said Lola.

Isaiah opened the door, hiding behind it as Marshall entered. "Hi there."

"Oh, hi," Lola replied. "Is your prefect not coming in?"

"No, he's pretty busy. Got other students to look after and so on." Marshall pointed to a seat. "May I?"

"Please," Lola gestured.

"Thank you." Marshall sat down. "So, nobody's going to see us, right?"

"Oh, no, I switch the cameras off for my me time," Lola smiled. She reached into her desk drawer. "I have some green here, if you want?"

"Sounds good," Marshall smiled. He looked past her, seeing a cabinet stacked with trophies, and a bottle of alcohol. "Say, what's in there?"

"Oh, just some old scotch," said Lola, rolling the paper. "It's something I break out when I feel like celebrating."

"Well, hey, you have a young prospect in your office who's looking forward to your help," Marshall said. "Why not bust it out?"

Lola giggled. "Sounds good!" She finished rolling the joint she had set up, lighting it and taking a puff. "In the meantime, how about you try some of this?"

Marshall smiled, taking the joint from her and inhaling. He took in the scent of it all, actually calculating what went into it before breathing out the taste. He then took another one, holding in the taste again as he watched the teacher get some glasses from her desk.

"How's it taste?" Lola asked.

"Not bad..." Marshall said. "A bit more complex than what I normally puff on."

She smiled, pouring the glasses and handing one out. "I know that you're not old enough to drink, so... are you sure?"

Marshall nodded, putting the joint in an ashtray before taking the outstretched glass. "I'm sure."

"Then, here's to us!"

The two clinked their glasses, and both had their drinks quickly. They both breathed in the taste of the alcohol, with Marshall sitting back down immediately, somewhat taken aback by the sudden sting of the scotch in his stomach. He felt a bit woozy as well, chuckling.

"Oh... man, that was good..." He waved his tail happily.

"Glad you liked it, handsome," Lola smiled. She poured two more. "How about another?"

"Oh, hell yeah! Count me in!"

"Now's your chance," said The Director.

Marshall nodded. He used his tail to knock the glass as Lola poured. "Oh, crap! I am so sorry!"

"No, it's fine," Lola said. "Just... shit. Give me a second. I have a towel somewhere..."

As she ducked down to her desk to try and find them, Marshall reached into his pocket, picking out some sleeping pills. He dropped them into Lola's drink as she was cleaning up the spillage, and as she came back up with the glass, he sat down.

"You okay?" Marshall asked. "I'm really sorry about that."

"I'm fine," said Lola. "Really. I don't suppose you want to hold off on that second drink? I mean, it's getting late, and-"

"No, I insist," Marshall said. "I promise, I'll be able to handle the next one much better."

The Spanish teacher smiled, refilling Marshall's glass and looking at her own, raising it. "Por la escotilla!"

The two clinked their glasses, and both drank, taking in the taste again before sitting down. As Marshall reached for the joint again and took a puff, he saw Lola looking a bit woozy, and he raised an eyebrow at her behaviour.

"Say, are you all right?" he asked.

"Yeah..." said Lola. "Sorry. Guess... I haven't had scotch in... quite a..."

She didn't finish her sentence, and she fell back onto her chair, unconscious. Marshall got up and went to the door, opening it up. "We're ready. She's out cold."

"Good work," Isaiah said. "Go get into costume, superstar. Your next performance is coming up."

A few hours later, Lola woke up, finding herself curled up on a cold, wooden floor. She saw the lights above her glaring, and she shut her eyes instinctively, trying to blink out the brightness. She sat up, looking around as the light above got brighter, but saw nothing but darkness around her.

"Where... where am I?" She looked around.

"Ah, you're awake," a voice said.

Lola turned her head, not seeing anything. "Whoever you are, let me go! Do you know who I am? I could have you arrested for this!"

"Oh, trust me, after tonight, it's not just the kidnapping that's going to be an issue," Marshall said, his costume again hiding his identity and distorting his voice.

"What are you going to do to me?" asked Lola, panicking, still not seeing anything.

"Well, first, I'd like you to try moving around," Marshall said. "See how far you get."

"Wait... I'm not tied up..." Lola said. "What is happening?"

"I suppose that I didn't see the point in trying to keep a free spirit down," said Marshall. "And yet, regardless of how bound you are, your fate ends in the same fashion tonight."

"What... what do you mean?"

Marshall chuckled. "You have been wasteful. Lustful. You have become a substance addict, and not cared what the substance is. As long as you could get it into your system, you didn't care how many times you had to get on your knees to get what you wanted."

Lola growled. "Director... what kind of sick, fucked up game are you playing this time?"

"The kind where he wins," said Marshall. "Where he gets his own back for what you did to him. For what you took from him."

"We took nothing!"

Marshall laughed. "You took from him. And you know it. You were only supposed to be killers. Just a bunch of dogs ready to bite whatever and whoever looked at you funny. But you lost your way as well, much like Marks did."

"Marks?" Lola shuddered. "N-No... not him..."

"And now, because you took from The Director, you will be next," Marshall said. "So, please, don't deny what you took. Tell me why you did what you did."

"I did it because I was weak, okay?" The Spanish teacher sighed. "Because I just wanted to feed my habits! I took every drug that you could name, and I did some revolting things to get it! And those things? Those drugs? They made me feel like a fucking goddess!"

"Well, you sure don't look like one any more," Marshall said. "In fact, I'll give you a chance to run away."

"You... you mean it?"

"I do. Please, do try," said Marshall. "I insist."

Lola sighed, standing up. She ran one way, and found herself colliding with a solid wall. She ran another way, but once again, saw nothing. Lola went over to the pitch black wall, touching around it to find a possible handle, but not finding anything.

"Where am I?"

Marshall chuckled. "You thought that escaping was that easy?"

"Let me go, dammit!" Lola cried. "Please! Please..."

Instead of replying, a little slot in one of the walls opened up, and a tiny little plastic bag dropped in the pit. "Take the bag."

Lola picked it up, seeing a needle. "What... what is it?"

"Oh, don't act like you don't know," Marshall said. "It's heroin. And you're going to inject it into yourself."

"Or what?"

The door that the bag came through burst open, and Marshall walked through, carrying a tray covered with a cloth behind him. He shut the door after he entered, putting the tray in the middle of the pit, and Lola got a good look at the area past the door.

"Where... are we?" She seemed more worried by the second. "And... who are you?"

"You've asked both of those questions a lot," Marshall said. "We are in the old abandoned shed outside the college. And I... am the X Killer."

"I've heard about you, but never seen you..." said Lola. "So, you're the sick bastard killing for the Director. Why don't you go back to killing faggots and whores?"

Marshall sighed. "The tough torture method it is, then."

"What... what do you mean?"

Marshall smiled under his mask. "I have a bunch of mixed up drugs here. Some shit that'll get you really, really high. Or bring you down low as well, should you need it. I've even got some drinks too. I've got stuff that you can inject, inhale, snort, swallow... you name it, it's here somewhere."

"Wait, I... I don't understand..." Lola looked.

"Well then, let me tell it to you nice and straight and simple. You have many vices, and I'm going to use them against you."

Lola hesitated. "But... what if I don't want to?"

Marshall chuckled darkly. "Well, I can smell on your breath that you were having alcohol recently. A brand of scotch, perhaps?"

"How did-"

"The suit helps," he said, cutting her off. "And also, a strong strain of weed. You weren't, by any chance, trying to earn that from someone?"

"N-No!" Lola said. "I... I already had those... in my office."

"You shouldn't have that stuff at college," Marshall said. "Yet another offence."

"You know, if all you're going to do is berate me, then I'll just leave..."

"You can't leave," Marshall said with a smile. "You won't want to. And soon, you won't leave here at all. Well, not alive, anyway."

"Please... don't kill me..."

"Oh, I'm not going to kill you directly," Marshall chuckled. "You are going to kill you."

"I'd rather just go to jail..." said Lola. "Please... please! Give me a chance! I want to get out of here! I want to go home! I'll do the jail time, I swear! I'll never touch another drop of booze or take another sniff of anything! No more needles! I promise! Please!"

"See... you had those chances," Marshall said. "But you kept giving in to those addictions, those substances. You made yourself sick with worry when you didn't have them, and the stuff in your office isn't cutting it. You need the hard stuff. So, now, the very thing that you abused is going to fight back. And I am going to make you take it."

"And how?" she asked.

"Use your knife," said Isaiah in Marshall's ear. "Slice the backs of her knees."

Marshall smiled. "I have my ways..."

"Do it."

Marshall stepped closer, suddenly turning around to pick up a cloth rag. He pressed it into Lola's mouth, and she choked a bit, falling bath as she inhaled the fumes of the substance. She fell down, landing on her back, but she wasn't out yet.

"Do it..." The Director repeated. "Hurt her..."

"I'm not going to hurt you," said Marshall. "But I will if you don't do what I tell you to do. Is that understood?"

"You hurt her, or I hurt your family," said The Director.

"No..." Marshall whispered. "She'll destroy herself. Is that not enough for you?"

"It is. But you have to sell this. You have to make this performance believable. And, if you decline, I will personally put a bullet through the hearts of everyone that you care about. Is that understood?"

Marshall grunted, grabbing a knife. "I'm sorry for this. You've been so compliant as well."

Lola saw it, and stumbled to get up. "What... what is that? Is that a knife?" She rose to her feet, very slowly. "Please... n-no..." She turned slowly, not being able to move quickly enough as she felt a stinging sensation on the backs of her knees. She then fell down again as blood spurted and trickled down the backs of her legs. "What... I... can't... move..."

"No, you can't," said the fox. He leaned down and picked up the teacher, dragging her up to her knees and scuffling her over to the drugs table. "But what you can - and will - do, is take what I tell you to take."

"Can I at least pick?"

Marshall put the rag against her mouth again, and she slowed down once more. "No, you can't. Is that clear?"

She nodded. "Yes..."

"Now, I want you to understand something," Marshall said, saying the words verbatim as The Director spoke them. "A pathetic cunt like you doesn't deserve this life if you are so willing to squander it. You do nothing with it but fill your body with poison. And, tonight, I am going to end your toxic misery."

"I... I don't deserve to be here..." Lola said, almost agreeing.

"You really don't," said Marshall. "But soon, you'll be where you deserve to be."

He picked her up, setting her on her knees, which was almost impossible as he cut the backs of them. But he kept her there, using one hand to hold up her head and then using his free hand to put her hands together, pointing towards him with the palms facing skyward. He then grabbed a bunch of pills, putting them in her hands.

"Swallow them."

"You know what else to do..." The Director said. "Force her into it..."

Lola nodded, slowly lifting her hands so that she could imbibe the tablets. As she did, Marshall handed her a bottle of beer, and she drunk down the pills with it. As she did, Marshall grabbed her head, keeping it tilted back as he dumped more pills down her gullet.

She lurched forward, spitting up some vomit. "Ugh... fuck... you..."

Marshall grabbed the rag, putting that to her mouth and forcing her to her knees again, same position as earlier as he grabbed a bag of cocaine. He opened it up, putting it on her hands before grabbing her head, pushing it down and forcing her to sniff it up.

"That's it..." The Director said. "Do as I tell you to do!"

Marshall growled, watching as Lola pulled away from her hands, her nose and mouth covered in white powder and some blood dripping from her nose as well. She keeled over, spitting some blood out as some vomit was flushed from her system.

As she was distracted, Marshall grabbed the needles he had available, looking them over. "That should be enough..." he said.

"But we both know that it's not..." said The Director. "Inject every last one of them into her system. And don't stop."

Lola was too distracted to notice Marshall appearing. He leaned down next to her. "This'll only hurt for... well, hopefully ever..."

He pushed a needle harshly into her arm, but instead of leaning back fully, she enjoyed the high of it. "As long as I get to enjoy it a little bit... I guess that death isn't so bad after all..."

Marshall shoved another needle in her arm, then more. He watched as she got higher from it, her daze and her movements slowing with each one. "You shouldn't be enjoying this..."

"I know... but... I've never felt more... free..."

She then fell forward, several needles in her arm, a pool of vomit and blood under her head, and her pupils dilated before dying out. She kept the smile on her face, however, and her eyes stayed open until Marshall leaned over to close them for her.

"It's... done..." he said.

Isaiah then entered the door for the pit. "Wow... you made quite a mess."

"Yes, because drug-induced homicides are known for their cleanliness," Marshall bit.

"Whoa, slow down. I'm not the one who did the deed."

"No, you're just the clean up crew," Marshall said, sighing. "As long as I'm all done here, I'm leaving. You can clean up on your own."

"Well, I am a fair man," said The Director. "And besides, you really should get some sleep. You have two important appointments tomorrow."

Marshall sighed. "Fine."

He quickly put his coat on over his costume, hiding his mask in one of the pockets as he sneaked back to his college dorm. Much like last time, everyone else was either asleep or busy studying, and much like last time, he was thankful for their ignorance.

As he entered his dorm, he rushed to put the costume away, going over to his bathroom and leaning down over the toilet bowl, throwing up. Not due to the sickness of what he'd done, but rather to the emotional trauma, which caused some tears to leave his eyes as well.

"Ugh..." He took a few breaths, spitting a bit before getting up to wipe his mouth. He looked at himself in the mirror. "What... what have I done?"

"Exactly what you did last time," The Director said. "The right thing."

"The right thing..." Marshall shook his head. "That's not it... that's not enough..."

"Then when will it be enough?" the Brit asked. "You've come to the halfway point now, Marshall. You cannot back down now."

"I... I guess not." Marshall shook his head. He went to sit down on his bed. "But... the methods... aren't right..."

"When it comes to scum like what you've been dealing with, they don't deserve the right methods," said The Director as Marshall got changed for bed. "They deserve only pain delivered from the very same things that they derived such sick pleasures from."

Marshall looked at the sleeping pills in his hand. He put them in his mouth, swallowing them down dry. "It's all poetic to you, huh?" He shook his head. "Will you tell me who my next victim is?"

"I will. Just not now," said The Director. "You should go to sleep. You have a day off tomorrow, and a performance review the day after. Now, have a good night, my star performer..."

Marshall didn't say goodnight back, closing his eyes and sleeping bitterly, the events of what he did playing in his head like a nightmare, just like last time.

* * *

 **And thus we get the second kill... technically. I hope you all like this chapter as it is my last Foxhunt chapter for 2018, as I have tons of stuff to work on for December, not to mention the next Love And War chapter being the last for the year too. Until then, take care, and stay tuned.**


	14. Performance Review

A couple of days had passed since that night. The night when Marshall killed again. When he made Lola Rivera overdose on a deadly mixture of drugs, watching her choke to death, watching her bleed out, flashing back to seeing her fall dead in a pile of her own vomit and blood, a smile still on her face as Marshall remembered, forcing her to inhale the cocaine, forcing the needles into her arm, the alcohol into her system...

"Oh, god..." Marshall rubbed his stomach.

"Are you okay?"

Marshall turned to the student next to him, nodding. "Y-Yeah... I'll be okay..."

"Are you sure?" asked the Director in his head.

"Dammit..." Marshall stood up. "Could I be excused? I need the bathroom."

"Do you mind waiting?" asked the teacher. "There's only a few minutes left. Then you have your lunch break."

Marshall coughed and covered his mouth, seeing some blood on his hand. He shook it and looked again, seeing that it was clean, and shook his head. The student next to him lightly elbowed his side to get his attention, and Marshall looked to the front again.

"Well?" The teacher sighed.

Marshall sat back down, looking at his words on the paper and nodding. "I'm sorry..."

"I'll set you up for a meeting with the nurse, if you'd like?" the teacher asked.

"No!" Marshall said, clearing his throat. "No. I'm... I'm fine..." He wiped his face, trying to straighten himself out a bit. "Please, carry on."

The teacher cleared his throat. "Without any further interruptions... back to this lesson."

Marshall listened to the last five minutes of the lesson, writing what notes he could about a great Spanish war. He felt a connection with it, given his heritage, but given that he was close to finishing an hour long class only two days after killing The Director's second traitor... he wasn't feeling too comfortable. He noticed that he didn't take a lot of notes, and what he did take didn't make sense.

He was shaken from his writing as the bell went off, and he wound up pushing his pencil into the paper, causing the lead to break off. He quickly gathered up his stuff, making a quick move to leave the class, very eager to get to his break when the teacher stopped him.

"Marshall?"

"Yeah?" the brown fox asked.

"May I ask what the problem was today?"

Marshall looked, seeing Isaiah waiting for him. "I need to get going."

"Not until you answer my question," said the teacher. "What was your problem in my class? You barely paid attention, and you looked like you were in a far off place. Did something bad happen?"

Marshall gulped. "Well... I guess it's been a while since I saw my therapist. Or my priest. Or even my family. That, and I don't know my power yet... I'm just worried that I never will..."

"Good line," said The Director. "But will he take the bait?"

"I thought you were going to try meeting them more?" asked the teacher.

"I was, but I've been busy studying, trying to learn-"

"That's not a good excuse," said the teacher. "Marshall... you got here through your hard work and dedication. But you need your time off. You can't put all of your focus into just studying and trying to learn your power. At least try to have more of a social life. You know you can leave the grounds any time you want to sort out other matters, right?"

The Director chuckled. "Yeah, you know that. Provided that they're my matters, of course."

"Yeah, I know that," said Marshall. "I'll try and sort it out. Maybe I'll even take a weekend off if I feel so inclined."

"Not before your performance review," said The Director.

The teacher nodded. "Fair enough. Just think about it, okay? Go get some lunch. See the nurse if you need to."

"I will," Marshall nodded.

He then turned and left, meeting up with Isaiah. They began walking to Marshall's dorm when suddenly, Isaiah turned and slammed Marshall against the wall, an arm against his throat and his other hand pressing something cold and pointy against his stomach.

"We're out of range," said Isaiah.

"Whoa, what is this?" Marshall asked.

Isaiah put his hand over Marshall's mouth. "What kind of pathetic performance was that? And I'm not talking the other night, I'm talking just now."

"I'll admit, not a very convincing lie," said The Director. "But the boy worked well with the material that he was given. Isaiah, let him go."

Isaiah did so, and Marshall cleared his throat, sorting out his clothes. "Was the knife really necessary?"

"It was," said the prefect, hiding it in his sleeve. "Now, we're going to go and get some food. Then, we're going back to your dorm room to discuss Lola."

"I really don't want to do that last one," Marshall said.

"But you have no choice," said The Director. "And you know that."

"Regrettably, yeah, I know," Marshall sighed. "Look, let's just go get some food, okay?"

Isaiah nodded. "I'm feeling burgers. There's a vendor in the town that makes some nice ones."

"That actually sounds good," said Marshall, his stomach rumbling.

Isaiah smiled, and the two made their way out, going out into the town. Marshall did like the atmosphere of the college in general, but the outside was nice as well, and there was always pleasant people out and about. Marshall had tried burgers, hot dogs, and even some nice warm doughnuts out here before with his family, but having more frequent access now didn't hurt much.

"Hey," Isaiah smiled at the vendor.

"Oh, hi," the vendor said. "What can I get you?"

Isaiah turned to Marshall. "What would you like?"

"Hmm... bacon, cheese, onion rings, and barbecue sauce," the tall fox said.

"Ooh, good choice," Isaiah smiled. "I'll have one as well."

"And for drinks?" asked the vendor.

"Some soda, please," Marshall answered.

"Make that a double as well," Isaiah said.

The food was soon all sorted out and paid for, with the burgers wrapped in disposable paper, and the drinks in plastic bottles. Marshall and Isaiah walked around the town, eating and drinking a bit before heading back, wanting to make use of what little time they had left before the next lesson started.

"You know, it is nice out here," said Isaiah. "You'd think that with my cover as a prefect, I'd get to spend more time out here, but no."

Marshall smiled. "It does make me want to stick around out here for a bit longer. I mean, you holding a knife to my guts and putting my life in danger in general notwithstanding, of course."

Isaiah sighed. "Sorry about that. But you need to stay on your toes now more than ever. Like The Director said, do what he tells you, and you'll be fine."

"I know," Marshall said. "So, is there any new information for me?"

"Well, we have to review your performance first," said The Director.

"Oh... yeah..." The brown fox gulped. "I forgot about that part..."

"I must say, for your sophomore effort, it was very well handled," said The Director. "Your lines were delivered with conviction and emotion, your actions spoke loudly and added so much to the scene... you defeated the villain in such a beautiful manner, letting her die with a smile on her face. I might have hated her, but I'm glad that you gave her the death that she wanted."

"Seriously? You think an ex-addict's death wish is to overdose on whatever we could find?" Marshall asked.

"It worked, didn't it?" asked Isaiah.

Marshall shook his head. "Look, I know I said this already, but I'm saying it again. I should be more worried about this whole situation. About the fact that some fucked up psychopath who I don't know has a knife to the throats of those I love, and I'm the one clawing at the wall, trying to stop it from happening. And how am I stopping it? By killing people who also did horrible things, mostly by using those horrible things to kill them." He sighed and took a quick drink of his soda. "I haven't read all of the good book, but I know that the shit that I just said sure isn't in it."

"Actually, the Bible is a lot worse than you might imagine," said The Director. "People only focus on the good passages in churches and schools. They often miss the more violent, disturbing stuff."

"And what, that's what you're teaching me?" Marshall asked sarcastically.

"Well, whatever I'm teaching you, it's certainly not manners," said the Brit. "You should speak more carefully to me."

Marshall chuckled. "Prove it."

"Prove what?" asked Isaiah.

"You have cameras all over the city, right? You can hurt anyone that I know, and maybe people I don't know. We're in a wide open space, it's a public area, and there are cameras around, and a lot of people." Marshall paused. "Prove that you have my family and friends' lives at stake. Do whatever it is that you do and kill someone around here."

The Director chuckled. "You're not serious, are you?"

"I am," said Marshall. He looked down, feeling something against his side. He looked down, not seeing the knife from earlier, but a silence pistol. And it wasn't from Isaiah.

"The Director said that you wanted someone dead, yes?" asked the voice. It wasn't British, and Marshall didn't turn around. Neither did Isaiah.

"I... I just wanted him to prove that he could do it..." Marshall said.

"Well, he can," said the killer. "But he doesn't like to make public appearances. It's rare that any of us do. Now... who do you want dead?" The killer touched the side of Marshall's cheek, guiding it around. "Perhaps that clerk in the store? The cute girl in there selling games? No?" He turned again. "How about the vendor? The one who gave you the food that you're eating right now?"

"P-Please... I'm sorry..." Marshall begged.

The killer chuckled. "Aw... such a sweet little boy over there. Can't be much older than four. Or perhaps five. Look at him."

Marshall's jaw tightened and he looked. "I see it."

"See that balloon? I could shoot that balloon from here. It would explode and go floating away," said the killer. "And you see the child? See, if I shoot him, he wouldn't float away. But his parents there, who look so happy, would be so sad and disheartened. Not because of me, no. Not because I shot the child, or because I shot the balloon. They'd be angry at you. If I were to shoot the child, you would be the one metaphorically putting the gun in my hand." He leaned closer. "Is that what you want?"

"N-No..." Marshall gulped, feeling his fur tingling a bit. Not from the man behind leaning to speak, but from something else.

"I'm sorry, could you speak louder?" the killer asked.

"I said no..." Marshall repeated. "I don't want that... I don't want anyone to die..."

"Good," said the killer. "I'd best head back to my post. If you ever think that you know better than The Director, if you dare even believe it... if you challenge him... I'll come back, and I'll kill that fucking child, I'll kill the whole fucking family, and I'll hang that fucking balloon over your grave after I kill you as well." He backed away a bit. "Is that understood?"

"Yes..." Marshall said, raspy.

"Good," said the killer. He suddenly disappeared, and Marshall let out a breath of relief, covering his mouth. "Fuck..."

Isaiah shook his head. "You'd better learn to keep your head cool. We're out here to do more than eat."

"Yeah, because having another deadly weapon pressed against my sternum was totally another part of my plan for the day," Marshall retorted. "Wait... doing more than eat? What else are we doing out here?"

Isaiah reached into his pocket, pulling out a document. "Next victim. And this one is... well, probably the nastiest son of a bitch so far."

Marshall took the piece of paper, opening it up. "Ellis Redford..." Marshall gulped. "A noted paedophile... was caught several times in several places for possession and distribution o child pornography... convicted of conspiracy to rape children... and once... oh, god..."

"Read it," said The Director.

"Once beat an infant to death before then having intercourse with the corpse..." Marshall coughed. "I might need to throw up after all..."

"Look at his picture," said The Director. "Get a good look at his face."

Marshall did so, opening up the folder. He saw an African-American male, mid forties, some grey peppering his short beard and his sideburns, which led up to a small, clean cut afro. He had dark brown eyes, and Marshall looked over him a few more times to memorise his face.

"So... where is he?" the fox asked.

"At the college, same as the others," said The Director. "He's in a different building, though. He works at one of the gyms on the campus and is the coach of the basketball team."

"You'd think that he'd be a lock for it already," Marshall said. "I didn't even know that we had gyms."

"Well, get ready to see it more soon," said The Director. "Because that's where you're killing him."

"I... I am?" Marshall asked. "How?"

"Hehe... well, you may have to do some method acting with him. He's a paedophile, you look young enough..."

"No!" Marshall yelled, standing up. "Absolutely not!"

Isaiah grabbed his arm, but Marshall pulled away, causing the prefect to sigh. "You have no choice."

"I should at least choose how it goes!"

"Hmm..." The Director thought it over. "He's right... but now isn't the time or place for it..."

"Yeah," Isaiah said, checking his watch. "Let's get back to college. We have some time left to talk it over." He then looked at the civilians around them. "Sorry about that."

Marshall shook his head, not saying another word as he and Isaiah headed back to the college. The tall brown fox was guided back to his dorm room, and Isaiah shut the door, handing the folder back over to Marshall and standing next to him.

"So, what'll it be?" asked Isaiah.

"What'll what be?" asked Marshall.

"What are you going to do about Redford?"

"Christ, I don't know!" Marshall said. "I'm just not doing it how I was asked. I know that for damn sure!"

The Director gave a chuckle. "Well... you can have some time to mull it over. You've got until the weekend anyway, so make sure that you study hard, okay?"

Marshall shook his head. "Just leave me alone..."

"It's almost like you don't want to stop him," The Director said.

Marshall paused. "What?"

The Brit laughed. "Do you want to help people? Do you want to stop this evil man from continuing to do evil things?"

"I do, but-"

"Then do it. As always, do it your way. But remember, defeat them with their own vices..." said The Director. "And given what Ellis is guilty of... you have a lot of options."

"In the gym?" Marshall asked. "That might be a tough kill."

"Not with Isaiah cleaning up after you," said The Director. "You're lucky to have him around to protect you, you know."

"Yeah, like he protected me with a knife to my gut. Or by sitting idly next to me and letting some other psycho almost shoot me."

"Like I said," The Director continued, "lucky."

Marshall rubbed his temples, massaging his head. "Please... just leave me alone for a bit..."

"Are you going to do the job?" Isaiah asked.

"I don't have a choice," Marshall growled. "So, for the love of God, please stop pretending that I do..."

Isaiah nodded, leaving the room, and The Director spoke. "Remember, you've got time to plan it. Until then, focus on your studies, get plenty of rest, and remember, you have to knock it out of the park. Often when the first and second acts are good, it's the third that can be tricky. I wish you the best of luck."

The Director then left, and Marshall looked over the folder again. He then looked over at his computer, deciding to run a quick search on Ellis. He found pretty much all that he could on Ellis about being in college, about how he had led the basketball team well, and how much of a friend he was to people. Then he looked at the folder, re-reading the disgusting acts that Ellis had committed to children and infants, and put it away before going over to his bed, laying back.

He pulled out his phone, ringing Cosmo. He soon got an answer from the plant girl. "Hey," he said.

"Oh, hi!" Cosmo chirped. "Good thing that you caught me when you did. I'm on my break."

"That's great news," Marshall smiled. He noticed how calm he felt, and the tingles that he felt earlier with the killer around, and then with Isaiah and The Director while reading the folder on Ellis, were gone. "So... is all going well?"

Cosmo nodded. "Yeah. All is fine. Studies, working hard, still having fun with friends... and there's been some strides in Hyder's progress."

"Oh, crap," Marshall said, palming his face. "I completely forgot to check up on him."

"I told him about you being busy, and he understands," Cosmo smiled. "Apparently, Espio has helped him a lot through the therapy. Hyder's been a lot more focused, but I'm sure that you knew that already."

Marshall chuckled. "He did tell me that before, yes."

"Good," Cosmo said. "I hope you're okay, Marshall. I miss you so much..."

Marshall smiled. "I miss you too. But, hey, the weekend is coming up. I don't have any major plans... want to meet up? Go somewhere nice?"

"Sure!" Cosmo smiled. "Wait... by somewhere nice, do you mean pizza again?"

"I promise that I'll try to make an effort this time," the brown fox chuckled. "But knowing me... probably, yes."

Cosmo giggled. "Oh, you silly boy."

"Oh, you know you love me," Marshall said, catching his words. "I-I mean, maybe not love love, but... um..."

The green girl giggled more. "Well, it's true," she blushed. "I mean... I do care about you a lot. I miss you not being here..."

"Hey," Marshall said, smiling, "you'll be on your way up here soon enough. Just stick to working hard, okay?"

Cosmo nodded. "Okay... man, I miss you..."

"I miss you more," Marshall said. He then heard a bell. "And now I'm going to miss you a lot more."

"Yep. Break's over," Cosmo said.

"Almost is for me too," said Marshall. "May as well make an effort today. I might even try the gym here."

"Ooh, my tall, handsome man getting all buff for me... I like it," Cosmo chuckled. "I'll see you later."

"Later," Marshall replied. As soon as Cosmo hung up, he tried Tails' number. "And now for dad..."

After a few rings, Cream's voice answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, mum," said Marshall. "Where's Tails?"

"He was here, but something urgent about the case popped up," said Cream.

Marshall sat on his laptop, typing in details about the recent murder thanks to the X Killer, a title which he felt no pride in taking. "What happened?"

"Apparently, there was some mangled fingers on the scene," Cream said. "It was... disgusting..."

Marshall refreshed the page. "Has there been anything else about it?"

"I won't know until Tails gets more information," said Cream. "When he knows, I'll know. And when I know, you will too."

Marshall smiled. "To think, usually you wouldn't be okay with me doing this."

Cream giggled. "Well, your studies have kept you busy enough. It's not like you've been going out late at night, partying like an animal and taking drugs and having sex."

"Mum!" Marshall said, blushing. "I mean, I haven't done any of that, but still..."

The cream and orange rabbit smiled. "I know that I don't have to worry about it with you. You have that Cosmo girl, who is just amazing. I'm glad that you found someone with her."

Marshall smiled, looking closer at the details on his screen. "I am too."

"So, why did you call?" Cream asked.

"Oh, I wanted to just update you guys on how things have been going, which is well," Marshall said. "My studies have been going good, but I'm still not any closer to knowing about my power." He sighed a bit. "I'm still not going to give up. I'm going to keep learning like my life depends on it."

Cream smiled. "Well, I wouldn't go so far as your life depending on it. But for what you want to do, you can't quit. You haven't stopped yet, despite the bullying and the name calling and adversity. And you won't stop now."

"Damn right, I won't," said Marshall.

"Aw, what happened to my innocent little church boy?" Cream smiled.

"He's still here somewhere," Marshall said, reading through the article he found. "Anyway, um... I have a class I'm going to head to soon. I'm almost late as it is. But I just wanted to give you a call and let you know that things are still good."

"I appreciate that," said Cream. "Want me to call Tails' work phone for you?"

"Nah, I'll wait for him to get home," said Marshall. "Or you could tell him for me?"

"Or I could tell him to call you when he gets back?" suggested Cream.

"Also a good idea," said Marshall. "See? That's why you're the parent. That and your amazing baking skills."

"As opposed to your skill at being baked?" Cream snickered.

Marshall laughed. "Okay, that was a good one," he smiled. "I'll admit it."

Cream giggled again. "Hehe! I'm glad you liked it. But in all honesty, I hope that you keep working hard, like I know that you will."

"I promise that I will," Marshall said. "I'm going to learn whatever it is that I can do. Trust me."

Cream nodded. "I know. Anyway, uh... see you when I see you. I'll tell Tails you called and I'll tell him to get back to you."

"Thanks," Marshall said. "Later. Love you."

"Love you too."

Cream hung up, and then Marshall decided to have a quick shower before heading to the college's gym.

* * *

 **And another chapter is in the books, so to speak. I hope that you all enjoyed it. It took a bit longer than I would have liked to put this out, but I'm still having fun doing it, obviously. I'll see you all hopefully soon for the next Love And War chapter, and then whatever is to come after that. Take care, and stay tuned.**


	15. Untapped

Isaiah and Marshall walked over to a part of the college that the latter hadn't really seen before. It was a fairly large room, with different sections to train people who just wanted to train as well as those who want to find their power.

"Man... I never knew that this place was even here before," Marshall said as he stood outside the gym's door, peering through the glass. He changed into more workout-styled clothes after his shower. "This place honestly looks really nice."

"Well, it's also the place where you'll kill your next sinner," said Isaiah. "Don't get too comfortable when you walk in there."

"I haven't been comfortable this whole time," said Marshall.

Isaiah chuckled. "It must add a new dimension to know that The Director could kill you and the people who you care about at any time."

"A new dimension of what, exactly?" Marshall asked. "Fear? Excitement? Danger?"

"A bit of all three. But let me guess, you don't feel those emotions, right?" Isaiah grunted.

"Fear and danger, I feel more. Not so much on excitement," said Marshall. "I don't like this idea..."

"What? Why wouldn't you like the idea of killing a sexual predator?" asked Isaiah. "He's got this shit coming to him."

"Yeah, but... in the gym itself? Are you sure that we can't go out to the shed again?"

"That's what The Director ordered," said Isaiah.

"Thank you, Isaiah, but I can take it from here," said The Director.

"And now there's this guy..." Marshall said.

"Does the face of my project have issues with his next costar?" asked The Director.

"Well, besides the paedophilia and such, no. I'm sure that he's a lovely person," said Marshall.

"Ah... sarcasm. A truly ill-fitting suit on you." The Director smiled. "You must remember, you have plenty of options here. It's less predictable as well. And also, if you don't go in yourself, then either Isaiah will force you in with a weapon to your back, or Ellis will notice you, and because he's that friendly, he'll allow you to hop into the next best thing that he has to a windowless white van and give you all of the candy that you could ever want."

"Okay, I get it. But... let me try and talk to him myself," Marshall said.

"What, you don't want me to help you out a little bit? That's what I'm supposed to do," said The Director.

"I know, but... I feel like running a little bit of improvisation. It could work."

"Hey, go for it. I'm not above letting my actors go off-script. Isaiah, let's leave him to it."

"Of course," Isaiah nodded.

The prefect then nodded at Marshall before turning to leave, and the tall brown fox sighed, opening the door to the gym itself. He saw a few people working out, some on treadmills, some on weights, and the like, and a different instructor was over there.

Ellis, however, was working on the side where there were kids who were trying to learn their powers. At the moment, he was teaching a Mobian kestrel to sharpen his wings into blades, holding a foam dummy up in front of him as he spoke.

"All right, just focus your energy into your wings, and cut through this thing with a single slash," Ellis said, speaking carefully.

The kestrel charged up his arm, and with one movement, slashed deep into the dummy, the blade coming out the other side with some foam splattered about, giving Marshall a flashback to seeing some guts and gore splayed out instead before shaking it off.

"Good job!" Ellis said, sharing a high-five with his student before looking up to see Marshall. "Oh, and we have another new customer. And who might you be, young man?"

Marshall cleared his throat as the kestrel went for a normal workout. "Oh, I'm Marshall. I've not been at the college too long, and this is my first time seeing the gym here."

"Ah, well, it's always nice to see fresh faces ready to give it a shot," Ellis smiled. "What are you looking for? A regular workout? Or are you trying to unlock your powers? Because you seem quite fit as it is."

Marshall chuckled. "I... used to take self-defence. It's been a while, but I still run and bike every now and then too."

"That didn't exactly answer my first question," Ellis said drily. "Regular or powers?"

"Powers," said Marshall.

"Okay, well, do you have any clues what they might be?"

Marshall shook his head. "None whatsoever. I've tried calling forth claws or fangs, tried flying with my tail like my dad does... I even think that I tried laser eyes on someone that I didn't like back when I was just a kid."

Ellis chuckled. "Well, there's nothing of the sort to worry about here. We're all friends. But before I start people on learning their powers, I like to let them go for a normal workout first. It really gets the blood pumping, you know?"

"I know," Marshall smiled. "How long is the workout?"

"Nothing major. Usually half an hour there, then half an hour with me to practise their power," Ellis said. "I'm lucky to even get that time today. I'm usually out of here sooner, but one of the other teachers got sick, so I'm filling in for them."

"Ah. Well, I hope that they get better soon," said Marshall, smiling. "Not that I'm trying to get rid of you or anything, of course. You seem like a nice person."

"Well, it's like I told you, there are no worries here. No bullying, no secrets to be spilled, just a nice, clean, calm environment." Ellis said. "So, are you ready for your first lesson?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," said Marshall. "I think I'll hit up the weights first."

"I'll be waiting for you," said Ellis, turning to look around. "All right, any other kids want to try and find out their powers? Come on over and give it a shot."

Marshall shook his head, smiling as he watched Ellis' eagerness to teach. Another student brushed past Marshall, going over to try and learn their power, and the tall fox decided to pick up the weights, sitting at a bench and lifting a dumbbell with his left arm.

"You'll want to keep your eyes and ears open for this one," said The Director. "Watch the old man."

Marshall chuckled. "It makes a good cover too... good thing not many people are around..." He then looked up as the student reached Ellis.

"All right, where are you having trouble, Carver?" Ellis asked his student.

Carver, who was a Mobian porcupine, sighed. "Well, I discovered my powers by accident this morning and... sort of ripped up my sheets."

"Oh? What is your ability?"

"I can form spines anywhere I want. I've got them kept down so that I don't hurt anyone here, but... I think that they might have something to do with my abilities."

Ellis smiled. "How so?"

Carver chuckled a bit. "I've tried most other things that I could think of. It just seems like the most logical choice. So... can you help me?"

"I can, and I will," said Ellis. "Okay, spines... sharp things... we'll get a practice dummy for you. Don't worry if things go badly, since we have quite a few more in a room at the back."

Carver nodded. "Okay!"

Ellis set the doll up. "All right, show me what you've got!"

The porcupine nodded again, focusing his strength and pouring his will into his spines. Jerry looked up at him, tempted to get behind some cover just in case, but instead switched arms on the dumbbell as he looked around the gym, seeing the room that Ellis was talking about earlier.

"That's as good a place as any to hide a body..." said Marshall.

"Save it for when you get Ellis later," said The Director. "But that is a good eye. Maybe your secret power is being a master of observation. Just one step above the abilities of hindsight."

Marshall chuckled, then saw Carver struggling. "Huh... he appears to be having some issues."

"Well, let's listen to what the master has to say," said The Director.

Ellis sighed. "What's the problem, Carver? You almost had it. Are you okay?"

"I... I don't know what happened," said Carver. "I was focusing on it, and I could feel it..."

"Well, you mentioned that it happened by accident this morning. Were you sleeping when it happened?"

Carver nodded. "Went to bed normally, woke up in a shock when most of my bed sheets were ripped up. Why do you ask?"

"Do you remember what you dreamed about? What the last thing that you saw was before you woke up?" Ellis asked.

"I... I think I saw my girlfriend... we were just having a nice picnic and laughing..."

"A pleasant dream," said Ellis. "You know, sometimes, powers are based off of emotions. Maybe your emotions that you felt in your dream last night led to what happened this morning." He smiled wider. "Do you think that you could focus on that memory again? This way, we can more easily determine what it was that caused your powers to manifest."

"I'll... I'll give it my best shot," said Carver, nodding.

The PE teacher nodded back, backing away to give Carver some space. The porcupine closed his eyes, and he focused on that memory, and soon, his spines started to grow. Ellis saw Marshall's position, and quickly motioned him to move out of the way just in case, as Ellis had a foam dummy to guard against it.

However, there was no need to worry in the end. Carver's spines, while sharp, didn't fire off, and he opened his eyes to look at them. "Wow... cool..."

Ellis smiled. "You did it! Well done!"

Carver smiled, then focusing on some of the spines on his back. "I think that I might be able to fire these. Could I try it?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," Ellis nodded. "Just aim for the targets."

Carver looked at said targets, and he turned his back with each shot of the spines from his back. Each one hit a target, even though only about a third got bull's eyes. Still, Carver seemed proud, and he managed to retract his spines despite the sense of elation that he was feeling.

"Okay... that was cool," Carver smiled.

Ellis chuckled. "Good going! The aim could use some work, but hey, that's why we learn! You'll find your own time to practice, I trust?"

"I will," Carver nodded. "Thanks for the tip!" The bell then rang. "Oh, crap, that's my next period. I've got to go. But thanks for the lesson!"

"See you later!" Ellis waved as Carver left.

Marshall watched, smiling a bit and walking over to Ellis. "That was pretty impressive."

"Well, I appreciate the compliment, but it was all down to him in the end." Ellis chuckled lightly. "I just pushed him in the right direction."

"Still, you did some good work," Marshall smiled.

"Thank you," said Ellis. "I trust that you want to try your own out now too?"

"I mean... if you're not too busy..." said Marshall.

"No, not at all. But I noticed that you haven't kept busy enough. You were just sat down and curling," Ellis smiled. "Carver came off of a twenty minute solid workout. I want you to try some other stuff besides just lifting weights. Then we'll talk."

Marshall smiled. "Okay, that's fair enough, I guess."

"Oh, say, don't you have a class to get to next?" Ellis asked.

"I do, normally, but I'm on a special course where I can choose my classes," Marshall said.

Ellis nodded. "Hmm... all right. That's fair. Tell you what? We'll just do a quick test run for now, and we'll see if we can get to the root of your powers."

"That sounds great, but why a quick one?" Marshall asked.

"Because I'm going to have a flood of new students pretty soon," said Ellis. "The quicker that we get you all done, the better. It's going to be packed otherwise."

"Okay..." Marshall nodded.

Ellis smiled. "Okay, so, you're a fox... what have you tried?"

"I've tried using my claws, my fangs, and even my tail to fly," Marshall said.

"I haven't heard much of that last one, I'll admit," said Ellis. "That's a new one to me."

"Oh, it's because my dad has two tails, and he uses them to spin and fly. He's a cop, so it helps."

"Interesting," Ellis nodded. "Very interesting. Okay... let's try and focus on those for today. And I want you to do what I told Carver to do earlier."

Marshall nodded. "Find a happy memory, or a good emotion, and focus on it, right?"

"Exactly," Ellis said, stepping away. "I'll leave you to it."

The brown fox smiled and he cleared his throat, taking a deep breath. He closed his eyes and focused on happy memories with his friends, his family, and with Cosmo. As he put his focus on, he tried feeling something in his claws, fangs, anything, but... nothing.

In one sense, this worked, as it tied in well to The Director's plan to get Ellis on his own late at night so that Marshall could kill him. But, on the other hand, despite focusing on his happiest memories, Marshall was saddened that his powers still weren't manifesting.

"It's... not working..." said Marshall.

"Don't let it get to you," said Ellis. "It sometimes takes a while."

"But we don't have a while," said Marshall, opening his eyes. He turned to see some students waiting outside. "Well... it looks like your next class is ready."

Ellis nodded. "Yeah. I'm sorry about this, Marshall. But you will figure it out." He put a hand on the tall fox's shoulder. "I promise."

Marshall smiled. "Say, do you teach at night?"

"Well, usually, no. But, like I said, the other teacher is sick at the moment." Ellis paused, raising an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

Marshall tried speaking quickly, hearing the students outside start to clamour. "Maybe we could reschedule for this weekend and see what else I can learn?"

Ellis nodded. "It's worth a try. I'll set aside some time for you. Usually, other students aren't as dedicated to it, so the fact that you are willing to go that far really says a lot about you."

"Thank you..." Marshall said. "Well, um, I should go. Don't want to make those students mad."

Ellis nodded again, shaking hands with Marshall before the fox packed up, opening the door to let the other students in before leaving. He made it back to his dorm, and had just gotten to his boxers as he prepared for a shower when The Director spoke in his head, scaring him.

"Marshall!"

"Ah, good God!" Marshall held his chest.

"I'm sorry. I just couldn't contain my excitement any longer. You did a good job with Ellis." The Director chuckled. "Isn't that right, Isaiah?"

"Indeed," said Isaiah, causing Marshall to turn and face him.

"Dude, please don't stare at my while I'm almost naked," Marshall said.

"Well, you should get used to it. This is the exact same way that Ellis would stare at you if you were about 13 years younger."

Marshall shuddered. "This conversation couldn't wait until after I've showered?" He shook his head. "Also, how did Isaiah know? He left when I went in the gym."

"True, but did you forget about me having cameras everywhere?" The Director asked. "I'm pretty sure that I made that very clear and concise when first we met."

"Yeah, I know," said Marshall, sighing. "I just... I really don't feel like I get much privacy any more. I've got you in my head, Isaiah breathing down my neck, and the fact that I have killed two people already and have to kill two more is sort of weighing heavily on my conscience!"

The Director sighed. "You know, you do raise a fair point. I can see why you'd get so upset and frustrated about all of this. Might I recommend therapy?"

"What, are you going to charge me extra for it?" Marshall asked.

"No, not me," said The Director. "I'd prefer it if you talked to someone who knew what they were doing rather than some voice in your head. In fact, I'm pretty sure that you go to normal therapists to try and get rid of the voices in your head in the first place."

"You're recommending that I go to therapy?" asked Marshall.

"Well, your parents tried to get you back into it," said Isaiah. "If I were you, I'd be smart and listen to their advice."

"My parents are paying enough for me to go to college. Seeing a therapist would just double their financial issues," Marshall said.

"Well, it's not exactly like you're neck deep in debt, now, is it?" asked The Director.

"We're not, but I'm not going to exploit their kindness for those reasons," said Marshall.

"Even if that reason is ensuring that your mental stability stays intact?"

Marshall grunted, slamming his hand against the wall. "I told you to stay out of my damn head!"

He then fell forward suddenly, clutching his head with his hands as he was shocked once again. He let out a series of garbled cries, his teeth chattering as he shook from the pain. It was soon gone, but Marshall suddenly went over to his toilet and began to throw up from the trauma.

"Oh... fuck..." Isaiah said. "Don't you think that you were a bit too hard on him, sir?"

The Director smiled. "Isaiah... you're a confidant of mine. Even though asked a question that you very well know the answer too already, I shall not put you through the same pain that I did to young Marshall just now."

"I appreciate that," said the prefect, "but why did you do it in the first place?"

"Because he needs to learn that I'm never going to leave his head. I gave him a simple job, and I gave him fair warning about what would happen if he disobeyed only an hour or so ago." The Director paused. "Did you understand all of that, Marshall?"

The brown fox coughed into the toilet, having finally let out all of his bile, and flushed the toilet, nodding. "Yeah... I got it..."

The Director chuckled. "See? You can learn. You'd better learn faster, though. After all, an actor that doesn't soak in their director's wisdom is as good as dead."

"At this point, I think I might prefer death..." said Marshall.

"Don't tempt me. You have me in your head, and I could fry your brain until it's nothing but ashes. Or I could have Isaiah shoot you, gut you, strangle you... do whatever he wanted to you. Remember, he's only there to make sure that you're behaving. If you don't stay in line, then he will whip you into shape." The Director paused. "Is that understood?"

"Loud... and clear..." said Marshall.

"Say it with more conviction."

"Loud and clear."

The Brit laughed again. "Good."

His voice then disappeared, and Marshall looked up to see Isaiah leaving too. Sighing, the tall brown fox got into his shower, cleaning himself up before brushing his teeth to get rid of the bad taste in his mouth. He got dressed back up, laying in his bed again and pulling his phone out, typing in Cosmo's number.

"Hey, baby," said Cosmo on the other end.

"Hi," said Marshall.

"Wow... someone's not in a great mood," Cosmo said, giggling a bit. "What's up?"

"Do... do you have time?"

"A little bit. I'm just about to head into the shower. PE today was murder." Cosmo sighed. "Why?"

"I... I just really missed you. I know that we keep in touch when we can, and I know that we have a date coming up, but... I just need to talk to you and calm down. Just to clear my mind a little bit."

Cosmo smiled. "You know, you have a therapist for a reason."

"I know. But I'll be seeing him on Sunday. For now, I'd much rather talk to you," said Marshall.

Cosmo nodded. "All right. What did you want to talk about?"

"I... I don't have anything, to be honest." Marshall let out a nervous chuckle. "I just needed to hear your voice. And I promise that I'll set up a therapy session this weekend. But first, is our date."

"Ah, yes, our fancy pizza date," Cosmo giggled.

"Might be somewhere nicer," Marshall shrugged. "You don't know that."

The green girl laughed again, and the two shared more small talk. Marshall couldn't deny how much it had helped him calm down, especially after such a stressful day. He would have loved to have told her why, but he knew that he couldn't, and why he couldn't, and that hurt him most of all.

"So, yeah, it went well at the gym," said Marshall. "Did some weights, mostly. Might try other stuff."

"Well, it's like I've told you before, you keep working hard, and I will too," Cosmo smiled. "Even if it hasn't been that long since we last spoke, you little stalker."

"Your little stalker who knows a great pizza place," Marshall chuckled. "Seriously, thank you. I just needed to calm down a bit after the gym. It took a lot out of me."

"I get it," said Cosmo. "Anyway, I'll see you on Friday, yeah? I've got to go and take my shower."

"Oh, sorry about that," said Marshall. "Yeah, sure. See you then."

Cosmo blew a kiss down the phone, giggling before hanging up. Marshall then laid back in his bed, having an image of Ellis fresh in his mind, seeing him as the man who helped Mobians learned their powers at first, and then seeing him as a paedophile and imagining his sick, depraved acts in the next thought.

Marshall sighed. "I really need to get my head on straight again..."

* * *

 **Man, I'm glad to be back to writing this. Even though not enough people read it, I still like writing it. I hope that you all enjoyed, and I'll see you soon for more Love And War. Until then, take care, and stay tuned.**


	16. Help Me Forget

Tails was looking over his board again in his office, rubbing his temples softly. Ever since the last murder from the X Killer, no new clues or leads had shown up, and all that they could find out about the previous victim didn't amount to a whole lot. He sighed and sipped his coffee again, clearing his throat.

"There's got to be something..." Tails said. "Anything. Come on... anything."

"Tails!" said a voice.

The fox turned to see Honey walking in. "Oh, hey. Good to see you." She walked up and grabbed his cup. "And you got me coffee? You're so thoughtful!"

Tails shook his head. "Yeah, always thinking of you." He then yawned. "Damn..."

"What's the matter?" asked Honey.

"We haven't gotten any leads since those two messed up fingers, and nobody is taking this case as seriously as I am. I mean, this killer finds a victim, kills that person, and then nobody even knows that they existed." Tails shook his head. "The X Killer is a ghost who makes ghosts of the people he kills."

"Hmm... I have a theory about that..."

"Shoot."

Honey smiled. "Well, what if the people he's killing weren't all that great themselves?"

"Then that falls under vigilantism, which is almost as bad," said Tails. "The law isn't in the X Killer's hands. It's in ours."

Honey chuckled. "It's weird to see you get so serious. Anyway... we might have found some new evidence. Something else in the shape of an X."

"Is it here already?" Tails asked.

"Noam is waiting," said Honey.

"Then let's go."

The two left the office and headed down to the morgue, where Noam was just finishing stitching up a corpse. He had some vials of human samples that he would scan later, and he was just about to put the body he'd looked at back in the fridge when he looked up.

"Ah, Tails! Honey! To what do I owe the pleasure?" Noam asked.

"Someone's in a good mood," Tails smiled.

"Well, you guys are the reason that I have a job to do," Noam said, gesturing to the body. "This is the Jane Doe that we have. I've gotten any blood from her, along with hair and nails, things like that. Stuff that might give is a better clue as to who she was."

"Do we have anything else?" Tails asked.

Noam nodded. "While you were agonising over that little board of yours, some of our guys found this." He picked up a bag and handed it to Tails. "Take a look."

The yellow fox raised an eyebrow before looking at the bag. Inside was a pair of heroin needles, both formed into the shape of an X. Another detail he noticed was the blood around the tips of the needles, along with some dried skin and what looked like dried up vomit.

"Ew... that's a lot all in one," said Tails.

"True, but it's a good sign," said Honey. "That's the X Killer's calling card."

Tails handed the bag back to Noam. "What do you make of all of this?"

Noam shrugged. "If you ask me, I think that the killer might be exacting a weird form of poetic justice. I can't say much for the last one with mangled fingers, but this one could have been a drug overdose. Possibly a forced one."

"Run the DNA," Tails said. "Let's see what pops up."

Noam nodded, processing the samples that he had before working on his computer. It shuffled through several faces before stopping on a pitch black screen, showing that no matches had been found, much like the last time that it happened.

Noam sighed, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. "Fuck... I really hoped that would work..."

"Another victim, another ghost," Tails said. "And we asked around to see if anyone knew about her before, but they all said that they didn't."

Honey took a picture of the bag with her phone. "This might come in handy for us."

Tails nodded. "I hope so." His phone then rang, and he answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey, dad!"

"Oh, hi, Marshall," said Tails. Noam cleared his throat, so Tails and Honey quickly left the morgue as he kept speaking. "What's up?"

"Well, I came to the realisation that, while I have a date with Cosmo tonight, I don't really have a car, and public transport is a major pain at night," said Marshall.

"So, what's your plan?"

"I was wondering if you could drive me?" asked Marshall.

Tails sighed. "I'd love to, but we just got some new leads on the case, and-"

"He'll do it!" said Honey.

Tails glared at her, and Marshall spoke again after a beat. "He will?"

The yellow fox sighed. "Yes... I will." He shook his head. "Where and when?"

"The when is 9:00 pm, so you've got plenty of time. The where is the lake," said Marshall. "Just... nice place. I want to go camping there over the weekend and take some time off from college."

"Well, you have earned it," Tails smiled. "You've been hard at work, so... of course. I shall be your chaperone for tonight. I could use some time off myself too."

Marshall smiled. "Great! Thanks! I'll, uh, see you later!"

Both foxes then hanged up, and Tails looked at Honey. "I'm going to get you back for that one."

"What?" Honey said. "Your son has a date and he wants his dad to help him out. I did you a favour," she winked. "Seriously, just... take some time off, okay? I'll check out any new things that we get, and I'll tell you what develops tomorrow."

Tails nodded. "Sure. But for now, we've still got work to do."

"Ah, yay, patrolling," Honey said, rolling her eyes. "The best never rest."

"You're damn right, we don't."

"If you're so good, how come you haven't caught the killer yet?" asked Noam.

"Oh, quiet, you!" Tails said. "We'll see you later!"

Noam waved, and Tails and Honey left the room, heading for their patrol car. They got the information on where the parts were found, and soon found themselves at the two trees again from many times before. They both sighed as they got out the car to patrol.

Throughout most of the rest of the day, they spent that time talking to possible witnesses, and once again, found no new leads on any aspect of the case. They hopped back into their car, ready to head back to the station as Tails hung his head with an audible sigh.

"Fuck..." he said. "We were so damn close. So close." He slammed his hand on the steering wheel.

"Hey, let's just get back and relax, okay?" Honey said. "We'll be fine."

Tails nodded, driving off.

Meanwhile, Marshall was looking in his bathroom mirror. He'd showered, sprayed, and was combing his fur as he looked over his clothing. He made sure that he wore some nicer clothes than usual, as he was looking forward to his camping date with Cosmo.

"You look rather dapper in flannel," said The Director.

Marshall looked himself over again. "You don't think it's too much with my LA hat?"

"Nah, it's fine," said The Director. "I do like it when my performers are competent enough to dress themselves."

"Thanks? I guess?" Marshall sighed. "Remember, no murdering tonight. I want to have a nice date with Cosmo, so I want you out of my head, and I want Isaiah to not follow me around."

"Given your performances lately, you have my word," said The Director. "I will do nothing to interrupt your date. Just so long as you remember that you have a job to do tomorrow night..."

Marshall nodded, looking over the time. "Oh, got a class soon."

"I'll walk you there," said Isaiah. "Last one, right?"

"Yeah. Just a freebie history class that I don't really have to take," said Marshall. "But I want to anyway. We're covering some of Spain's past, and since I speak that language, it'll be interesting to me."

"Then you have fun," said The Director. "Have time to relax before your big night."

Marshall chuckled as the voice left his head, and as he passed through the halls, he waved at Ellis, smiling before moving on to his next class. He reached said class, paid attention, took down notes, and before he knew it, the class was over.

"All right, you have fun over the weekend!" the teacher said. "Remember, take notes if you need to!"

Marshall chuckled and took his notes with him, looking them over. As he did, Isaiah noticed that about half of it was work from the class, and the other half was random Spanish words that he didn't know the meaning of. They soon made it back to the fox's dorm, and Isaiah asked him.

"What's with the homework there?"

"Oh, just some words I'm working on saying to Cosmo," Marshall smiled. "Might be able to teach her some of my language."

"Well, it is quite a romantic one," said The Director. "You speak it so fluently when you need to as well. Yet another thing that makes you such a fleshed out performer."

Marshall shook his head. "I try." His phone then rang, and he answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey, kiddo!" said Tails. "I'm outside. Just come on out and I'll take you to Cosmo's. I've got the camping stuff with me too."

"Thanks, dad!" said Marshall. "I'll be right down."

Isaiah smiled. "Have fun tonight... kiddo."

Marshall shook his head. "And you keep your promise too."

"Fine, fine." The Director sighed. "A promise is a promise."

He soon left the tall fox's head, and then said tall fox was heading down the stairs to see his adoptive parents waiting for him. He quickly got into the car, getting in the back seat and unable to wipe the smile off of his face, which Cream smiled at.

"Aw, my big man is excited!" she said.

Marshall smiled. "Yeah. I'm just glad that she'll be surprised by it."

"Let's hope it's a pleasant one," said Tails. "Remember, the last time you went to the lake... it didn't go so well."

"I know," Marshall nodded. "But this time, it'll be different. Just me and her under the stars. Marshmallows and stuff too."

"You little romancer, you," Cream giggled. "Oh, here we are!"

They rolled up to Cosmo's house, and the green girl was waiting outside for them, waving and smiling. They stopped just next to her, and she leaned over and kissed Marshall's cheek before walking around to the other side, sitting next to him in the back of the car, and dressed nicely in a good combo of green and blue.

"Wow," Marshall smiled. "You look beautiful."

Cosmo giggled. "Not bad for a pizza date, huh?"

"Oh, right... pizza date..." Tails smiled, thankful that he hadn't left the parking spot yet.

"What's going on?" asked Cosmo.

Marshall turned to her. "Well... what if I told you that instead of having pizza, we were having... marshmallows?"

Cosmo's eyes widened. "So... we're going to the lake?"

"Yep," Marshall nodded. "Just you and me. If you have any extras that you need, now's the time to go and get them."

Cosmo giggled and leaned over to kiss Marshall's lips happily, pushing him back on the seat. He smiled and kissed back, but then saw Tails raise an eyebrow in the rear-view mirror, so he cleared his throat and gently pushed Cosmo off of him, blushing.

"I should... uh..." Cosmo started.

"Yeah," Marshall said. "Just... just get what you need."

"O-Okay..." Cosmo slipped out of the car.

Tails and Cream looked over at Marshall, who was blushing intensely while they waited. Soon, Cosmo got all that she needed, which was just some spare clothes, food, and water, before getting back in the car, which soon took off with little trouble.

The drive there was peaceful and fun, awkwardness from the display of affection aside. They arrived at their destination, and Tails and Cream helped the two get all of their stuff set up as well, with both parents being thankful that Cosmo had her own tent as well.

"Thanks, dad!" Marshall smiled.

"No problem," Tails smiled back. "You two just try to stay out of trouble, okay?"

"We will," Marshall said. "Thank you for your help."

Cream and Tails waved and left the two, getting back into their car and driving off. As they did, Marshall checked over his phone, seeing a missed message from Isaiah which was a reminded of the job for tomorrow night. He put his phone away as Cosmo hugged him from behind.

"Hello, handsome!" she smiled, kissing his cheek.

He blushed and turned around in her hug, nuzzling noses with her. "Hehe. So... you like this surprise?"

Cosmo giggled. "It's amazing! Even though... well..."

Marshall nodded. "I know. It's the place where Hyder did what he did and so on..."

"But he's gotten better," said Cosmo. "It takes a lot to admit when you're wrong and that you have a problem. You helped him to see that."

Marshall smiled. "I guess so..." he cleared his throat. "So, you must be getting close to the finish line, huh?"

Cosmo giggled. "I'm hoping to be with you at college by next week," she said. "I just have a few more grades to finish off, then I'm all set."

"What grades are left for you?" Marshall asked.

"Mostly, foreign languages," she said. "I've been having trouble understanding Spanish." She then turned and blushed. "I'm... hoping to make it a required course..."

"Why's that?"

She giggled. "Because... I want to learn it for you."

Marshall couldn't hide his little laugh at that, and he wiped his brow. "I apologise for the laugh. That is honestly really sweet. But... well, you won't believe this..."

"What is it?" Cosmo raised an eyebrow.

"The last class that I went to today was all about Spanish history," Marshall said. "And I wrote some Spanish phrases down that I was planning on teaching you. If, you know, you want to learn?"

Cosmo tapped her finger on her chin and nodded. "Sounds good. Who knows? It might even help me to excel and get that grade faster."

Marshall chuckled, and reached into his pocket. He found the piece of paper that he'd written in earlier, and for the next little while, he taught her a few phrases, going as slowly as he could so that she could understand. She caught on surprisingly fast, and even had the enunciation down to a tee as well.

"Well, I'll be darned," said Marshall. "You killed it. That's college level stuff too."

"But it was in history class," Cosmo pointed out.

"A college history class," the brown fox playfully corrected. "Seriously, when the test comes around, you've got nothing to worry about. You should be all set."

Cosmo giggled. "Like I'm all set to eat and chill out with you?"

Marshall nodded, looking over at the fire and reaching for his bag to grab some marshmallows. As he did, he seemed to see a bloodied photo of a man's mashed up face, and he couldn't quite make out who it was. He shook his head and saw just the marshmallows again, opening them up and putting them on a stick.

"Grub time," he smiled.

"Ah, yes, it is a healthy meal indeed," Cosmo smiled.

"So, you like vegetarian food, right?" asked Marshall, searching through his phone for some music.

"For the most part, yeah," said the green girl.

"Where do marshmallows fall under that category?"

Cosmo thought about it before speaking. "They fall under the category of being really delicious and me wanting to eat them." She heated one up and popped it into her mouth, chewing, then swallowing it. "And they've got more fluff to them than you."

"You know, I didn't think that it was possible for food to beat me in terms of fluffiness, but it seems that I was wrong," Marshall chuckled.

"Aw... my poor Marshmallow is jealous of marshmallows?"

The fox chuckled again at that. "I like that, my little Cosmos."

She blushed. "Cosmos?"

"Yeah," Marshall nodded. "I... I like to look up at the stars sometimes. And tonight's a perfect night for that. Camping, tents, a fire, marshmallows, some mood music." He paused a bit. "It's just... seeing how they all twinkle up there. They all seem so free. So... happy, almost."

Cosmo blushed at that. "Is that why you gave me that nickname?"

Marshall smiled. "Not even all the stars in the cosmos could equal how beautiful you are..."

The green girl let out some happy tears at that and she gently kissed the brown fox. He kissed back, smiling into it before they both pulled away, looking into each other's eyes. They both pulled each other closer and started to kiss deeper, Marshall lifting Cosmo up on his lap. The two kept sharing in this passionate moment before, as if by some cruel fate, Marshall's phone shuffled the tune to some upbeat pop music.

"Crap..." he said, pulling away from the kiss. He reached for his phone to turn the music off, then he checked the clock on it. "Ooh... it's getting late. We should... uh..."

"Oh, yeah, yeah, totally," Cosmo nodded. "So, you go to your tent, and I go to mine?"

"That's why they're separate," said Marshall, a hint of sadness to his voice. "It's probably for the best. I mean, I'm quite tall and maybe wouldn't fit well in your tent."

Cosmo giggled at the unintentional innuendo. "Really, now?"

Marshall blushed. "Oh, uh... not what I... meant..." he said, embarrassed.

Cosmo smiled again and rubbed his arm. "I'm just kidding with you, cutie." She looked into his eyes. "I... I truly care about you. And if there's anything that you're not comfortable with... you let me know."

"Usually, it'd be me saying that," Marshall smiled. "It's... it's fine. You don't have to do anything that you don't want to."

Cosmo nodded against his chest. "We... we should sleep."

"Yeah. Let's... uh... let's do that..."

The two regrettably broke from their embrace, letting the campfire burn to give them some light as they set themselves up to go to sleep. As Marshall sorted out his sleeping bag, he turned his head and saw Cosmo shedding some of her clothes, and he gulped. He turned back to his own sleeping back, still watching her shadow as she got dressed, and he looked idly away when she stopped suddenly.

"Marshall?" she called out.

"Y-Yeah?" he asked.

"I think I left my spare clothes over by the campfire. Could you go get them for me? It's just my pyjamas, and I don't want to sleep out here in the cold, nor do I want to risk leaving my tent in my current state..."

"Oh, s-sure..."

The tall brown fox got up and carefully got out to go over to the fire. He saw a spare bag there, and he quickly put the fire out before picking the bag up and walking over to drop it in Cosmo's tent, but he looked around quickly inside for her, only to find that she was gone. His heart jumped to his throat for a second.

"Cosmo?" he asked.

"I'm fine..." she said quietly. "I'm in your tent..."

"But... why would you be there?"

He said that one more under his breath as he went over to his own tent, and he saw that Cosmo had snuggled up in his sleeping bag. He smiled at that, then turned and gave her the spare bag that had her pyjamas in it. He then turned back around as she changed.

"Okay, I'm done," she said.

* * *

 **Warning! The following is a small lemon! If you're not of the right age, just skip to the end! Otherwise, do enjoy.**

* * *

Marshall turned back around, only to see that she hadn't gotten dressed back up at all. He was stunned into silence by her beauty and her figure, and he was somehow rendered even more speechless as she walked over to him, kissing him deeply.

Marshall wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so he kissed her back, leaning down his head to meet her mouth. Somewhere along the way, the two found themselves on the floor, with Cosmo on her back on Marshall's sleeping bag while he was on top of her.

"I... I want this..." Cosmo said through the kisses. "I want you... to take... you know..."

Marshall nodded. "I know. I... um... want you to take mine too..."

Cosmo smiled, looking up and kissing him. Marshall blushed and pulled back a bit to remove his shirt, reaching under to pull his pyjama trousers and boxers down far enough so that his hardness was seen poking out, the tip teasingly grazing Cosmo's upper thigh.

"Please... put it in me... give me all of you... take all of me..." Cosmo looked up at Marshall. "I... I love you..."

Marshall kissed her neck and then her lips as he slowly pushed the head in. "I love you too..."

Cosmo hissed in pain as she felt her virginity slowly being taken. Well, given who she was with, taken wasn't the right phrase. She gave it to him willingly, and she knew that he was giving his to her as well. She looked up into his hazel eyes and kissed him gently.

Marshall kissed her in reply, starting to move faster when he felt that Cosmo was comfortable. Since this was their first time together, he doubted that he would last long, but he didn't mind about that. He focused on her, how their hearts were beating together, how they both sounded.

After only a few minutes, he finally released inside her. She shuddered as she felt it, and her own coming soon followed it up. Both of them panted against each other's mouths, their breaths warm on each other's face as Marshall pulled out, getting some paper towels to clean up.

* * *

 **Lemon's over now!**

* * *

The two were soon dressed back fully into their pyjamas, both laying side by side and catching their breath. It wasn't so much the physical as the emotional side of it that got the better of them both, and they both gave each other shy little smiles as Cosmo laid her head on Marshall's falling and rising chest.

"That was... really something..." Cosmo said.

Marshall nodded, then gasped. "I... I didn't wear protection..."

"Oh, it's fine," Cosmo smiled. "I have some pills. I left them at home, but... they should work."

"Okay," Marshall nodded. "Sorry. It's just... that was perfect. The stars, the campfire glow... and best of all, I got to have it with you."

Cosmo giggled. "You turn into quite the romantic around me, huh?"

The brown fox blushed. "I... I guess so. I think that you just bring that out in me. That's part of why I want you to come to college as soon as you can. You... you're a good influence, and you bring out my best."

Cosmo smiled, kissing his neck softly. "You bring out the best in me too. I can't wait to be closer to you." The green girl yawned and stretched against him. "We should... get to bed..."

Marshall nodded, and chuckled. "I do have one more Spanish phrase that I never taught you..."

"What is it?" asked Cosmo.

"Te amo," Marshall said. "It means... I love you."

Cosmo smiled. "Te amo you too. I love you you too?" She snorted and laughed a bit at that.

Marshall laughed too. "I love you you too, Cosmo," he said.

Cosmo smiled softly. "Let's get some sleep, honey..."

Marshall nodded, and pulled the sleeping bag over them both. He soon fell asleep, his soft purring helping Cosmo to also drift off soon after, and the couple would have happy dreams through the night.

A stark contrast to the nightmare that was to come tomorrow.

* * *

 **And back at it with this again! As I've said, I'm hoping to bounce between this and Love And War until they're both finished. I also hope you enjoyed the little sweet lemon to contrast all the filth that I usually am known for. Regardless, I'll see you guys in the next one. Take care, and stay tuned.**


	17. Kept In The Dark

The morning after, Marshall woke up, blinking his eyes slowly to get used to the daylight that was shining through the fabric of the tent. He then felt his heart beat against his chest, and he looked down to see Cosmo's hand resting on his stomach, her sleeping head on his breast. He petted it gently and softly kiss the back of it.

"Hey... time to get up..." said Marshall.

Cosmo's eyes blinked open slowly, and she looked up into Marshall's hazel eyes, smiling. "Hi..."

"Hi..." he replied. He leaned down and kissed her lips. "Mmm... how was your sleep?"

"It was... amazing," Cosmo said. "I got to curl up on a really fluffy mattress. How was yours?"

"Honestly?" Marshall said. "Maybe the best sleep I've had in a while that didn't involve some form of pill..."

Cosmo nodded. "Well... I'm glad that I could help..." She smiled. "Last night was... special..."

Marshall nodded. "It really was. That's really the first time that I... uh..."

"Yeah... me too..." Cosmo smiled at him. "You don't have to say anything. It was... so peaceful. Blissful, even."

"Yeah... nobody to disturb us. No little voices in our heads telling us that it was wrong... because it wasn't." Marshall chuckled. "It was perfect. You're perfect."

"You're pretty perfect too," Cosmo giggled.

She then turned as she felt something vibrating, and Marshall felt it too. He reached underneath himself and grabbed his phone. Apparently, during the night before, he'd left it on and out of reach so that he couldn't be disturbed. Quite unfortunate then, since what he was receiving was the most recent of about six messages from his adoptive mother. He sighed and quickly called her up, soon getting an answer.

"Hi..." he said.

"Hey, sweetie!" Cream replied. "How are you? Is everything okay?"

Cosmo slowly got up and sneaked out of the tent, opening the zip as Marshall replied. "Yeah, I'm fine. We're all good."

Cream hears the zip. "What's that noise?"

Marshall stammered. "U-Uh... it's me. Just opening the tent up and getting ready to wake up Cosmo."

"Did she sleep well out there?" Cream asked.

Marshall stifled a smile. "I hope so. I mean, we had separate tents, and I slept just fine, so I can only hope that she did too."

Cream nodded on her end. "Good. That's... that's really good to hear, sweetie?"

"I'm... sorry for not answering sooner," said Marshall as Cosmo left quietly. "Just woke up. It was really peaceful out here, and I wanted to catch up on my sleep, especially considering that I've really not got much work to do on the weekends."

"That's true," said Cream. "Oh, that reminds me, we managed to set up the meetings with Father Zachary and with Espio as well. You're going to see them both tomorrow."

Marshall smiled. "Thank you. That really does mean a lot that you're helping me out like that."

"It's no trouble," the cream and orange rabbit smiled. "Anything for my smart little man."

"Aw, mum..." Marshall blushed.

Cream giggled. "So, what's the next idea? Go straight back to college or swing by and visit us?"

Marshall thought over his options briefly in his head, nodding to himself. "I'll come on over and say hi. It might be nice to see my family again."

"Ooh, and you could tell us all about the camping trip too!" Cream added, giggling excitedly.

"Yeah... I could..." The tall fox cleared his throat. "But yeah, the main plan is to come over, spend time with you and dad, then go back to college."

Cream nodded. "Just wanted to make sure. I'll see you in a few. Oh, and Tails is on his way over there soon. Just thought you should know!"

"Sure. And thanks to telling me," Marshall said. "I'll see you later. Love you."

"Love you too!" Cream smiled.

After Marshall hanged up the phone, he decided to get dressed. As he turned on his side, however, he noticed Cosmo putting her clothes back on, the faint early morning sunlight outlining her features ever so slightly as she got herself dressed back up.

Marshall smiled to himself, then managed to pull away from looking so that he could get dressed as well. Soon after he was done, he and Cosmo cleaned up any rubbish they left from the previous night, even helping each other to take their tents down and so on.

Soon, they were all finished, and Cosmo smiled. "Ready to get back home?"

"Damn right," said Marshall.

Meanwhile, not to far away from them, Isaiah was driving along in his car, passing by the road where the lake was. He stopped his car as he saw the camping tents. He got out a pair of binoculars to watch Marshall and Cosmo as they sat down and waited, talking to each other and laughing.

"That's her all right..." said Isaiah.

"I had my suspicions..." said The Director. "That poor girl..."

"Let me ask, you don't plan on using her against Marshall, do you?" asked Isaiah.

"I do not," The Director confirmed, solemnly. "Even if I did, no pain that I could inflict with her could ever be worse than that which was already done."

Isaiah nodded, looking down at something on his dashboard. "I'll be on my way back over. We need to make some preparations for tonight anyway."

The Director chuckled. "You're doing good work, Isaiah. Don't forget that."

The prefect nodded, pulling the car around into a U-turn as he drove off. As he kept going in that direction, he saw another car in the distance, and he recognised the license plate as belonging to Tails' own car. Thinking quickly, Isaiah turned his head out the window to look at something, hoping that Tails wouldn't catch a glimpse of him.

As Tails went past, he shook his head. "Well... that guy was acting weird. Then again, with the shit that's been going on in this town lately, I can't blame him."

He kept driving along, soon pulling up to where Marshall and Cosmo were, and he waved as he saw them waiting on the side of the road. They waved back, or rather Cosmo did, as Marshall was finishing packing some of his stuff away before coming back over to her. Marshall and Cosmo soon got into the car, and Tails turned it around to start driving back home.

"You guys have a fun time down by the lake?" asked Tails.

"Oh, yeah," said Cosmo. "It was nice and peaceful. Quiet too."

Tails nodded. "I'm surprised you got a good night out of it. Apparently, the forecast was calling for some pretty bad rain."

"Really?"

"Yep," said Tails. "Then again, that could still happen today. Good thing that you're not camping, huh?"

Marshall nodded. "Sure is." He smiled. "Thank you for picking us up."

His foster father nodded. "Not a problem."

"So, what's the plan now?" asked Cosmo.

"First, I drop you back off at your house," said Tails. "Then I take Marshall back to our place."

"Yeah, since I've got most of the weekend off, I'm going to chill with my family for a bit," Marshall smiled.

Cosmo nodded, and she then leaned her head on the brown fox's shoulder. "That's sweet of you..." She smiled. "So... are you any closer to discovering what your power is yet?"

Marshall chuckled. "In all honesty, I haven't thought about it much. But there's this gym teacher at my college who holds a separate class for people who haven't learned their powers yet. I might give it a shot. I guess that I've been so busy with my studies that I never thought much about my powers."

Cosmo giggles. "Well, it's nice that you were able to distract yourself from that sort of stuff. Takes the pressure off of you, you know?"

Marshall nodded. "I know."

The rest of the drive was fairly silent, save for some songs and funny jokes shared. Tails stopped by Cosmo's house, as he said that he would, and the green girl kissed Marshall softly before leaving with her stuff. She waved as Tails and Marshall departed, turning in the driveway to head back to their own home.

"So... last night..." Tails began.

"Yeah?" Marshall asked.

"Did... anything happen?" Tails asked.

Marshall blushed, hoping that his father didn't see it. "Uh... n-no..."

Tails chuckled. "God, you're awful at lying. It's not like you killed the poor girl." He smiled. "It's fine. I won't tell your mother."

Marshall gulped. "If you must know... something did happen. But I won't say any more than needs to be said."

Tails nodded, a bit more serious. "How'd it feel?"

It was Marshall's turn to laugh now. "Why are you asking? You lost your virginity a long time before I did."

"You're right," said the yellow fox. "It was a long time. Which is why I'm asking you now."

Marshall sighed. "It was... nice. And it felt strange too. But... in a good way."

Tails smiled. "My little boy is finally a man now. Congratulations, son."

"Thanks... dad..." said Marshall, blushing. "Can we... not talk too much about it? I... I kind of want to keep the details to myself, if that's okay..."

"Oh, absolutely," said Tails. "I just figured that... well, since you haven't really had the time to speak to me or Cream in person that much as of late, I just thought that we could talk about something. Well, something that isn't your college progress."

"So, my love life was the next runner-up?" Marshall chuckled. "I get what you mean. I'm so happy that Cosmo's going to be at my college soon."

Tails smiled. "That's great news, kiddo. It really is."

"Not just that," said Marshall. "I'm going to be meeting that gym teacher today."

"Oh?" Tails asked.

"Yeah," Marshall nodded. "With a lot less stress on my mind, now's a good time to act on that and to try and push myself."

"It'll pay off eventually," Tails smiled. "I know that for a fact."

Marshall smiled at that, and they soon reached home. Cream opened the door and welcomed her adoptive son with a hug, and he hugged back before Tails joined. They all smiled more at that, and the hug soon broke with Cream speaking first.

"Come on in! I made some breakfast!" she said.

"Ugh... it's a good thing that I didn't eat before coming back," said Marshall. "Or is that a bad thing?"

"I'm surprised that you didn't throw up on the way over here," said Tails. "Also, I'm really glad that you didn't throw up on the way over here."

"I am too," Marshall smiled. "What's for food?"

"Bacon and sausage sandwiches," Cream smiled. "All sorted out for you, with red sauce as well."

Marshall smiled and leaned to kiss her on the cheek. "You're the best, mum."

"Oh, do go on," Cream giggled.

Marshall smiled at that, and he, Tails, and Cream all picked up their food and decided to head to the living room. They all took a seat and put on some TV, watching some funny comedy shows and just talking about the events of the week and so on.

As Tails and Cream veered off into a tangent of their own, Marshall took a bite of his sandwich. After he did, what seemed like blood dripped from the bottom of his sandwich, followed by a human finger soon joining it, leaving another small bloody mess on top of the blood. Marshall shook his head and saw that it was just sauce, and what fell out was a slice of bacon.

"Are you okay, Marshall?" asked Cream.

"Yeah, I'm... fine," he said, starting to stand. "I'll clean this up."

"No need," Cream smiled. "Tails will do it after we've eaten."

"She's right," said Tails. "She makes food, and I do the dishes. It's a fair trade-off."

Marshall smiled at that. "I don't mind doing them for you. It'd be nice to do at least that much before I go back to college today."

"I've got no problems there," smiled Tails. "Saves me a job, at least."

Marshall laughed at that, and the rest of the lunch went in silence. Even after they finished, they kept watching TV and laughing together, not having taken their dishes out yet. When Marshall did eventually gather them, he washed them, which didn't take long, and spent some mote time talking with his parents before standing up.

"All right, I should be heading back now," he said. "Thank you for the lunch and for letting me stay for a bit."

"It's no trouble," smiled Cream, leaning up to hug him. "It's nice to spend this time with you again."

Marshall nodded. "I know. It's been good to break away from the normal routine for a change." He sighed a bit. "I'll call you guys when I can."

Tails nodded back. "I'll drive you back if you want."

"Uh... sure," Marshall said.

Tails smiled, and the two got into Tails' car, waving goodbye to Cream as they drove off back to the college. A few tunes and conversations later, they got there, with Isaiah waiting for them out front and nodding respectfully to Tails, successfully hiding the fact that he did pass him by earlier.

"Hey, Tails," said Isaiah. "Glad that you dropped him off. We've got some work to do today."

"I'm sorry if I kept him for too long," Tails said as Marshall left the car. "He was having some food with us."

"Aw... that's nice," said Isaiah. "Well, thanks for dropping him off!"

Tails waved. "Take care now!"

Isaiah gave a smile, keeping it on his face as Tails turned around and left before then looking over at Marshall. "Someone's in a good mood."

Marshall smiled. "Well, it as nice to have some sleep."

"Good, because you'll need it for tonight," said Isaiah.

Marshall nodded, and his phone buzzed. He checked it to see a text from Hyder, and then noticed how low his battery was, so he didn't have the time to reply. "Shit... sorry, Hyder..." The bell than rang, and Marshall sighed again. "Oh, come on."

"Let's get you to class," said Isaiah.

"Wait, why? I can just skip it. And besides, this text could be important if it's from Hyder," said Marshall.

"Maybe," said The Director, suddenly cutting in. "But you have a lot of preparations to make."

Marshall nodded. "I know. I just... I shouldn't ignore him. He's come so far and done so well. I just want to know that he's safe."

"Oh, I'm sure that he will be," said The Director. "Come now. Let's get you inside."

Marshall nodded, and he went inside the building proper, being guided to his next class by Isaiah. As usual, the prefect waited outside while the class rolled on, and after it was all over, Marshall went over his notes before leaving. What those notes were were plans on how to get rid of Ellis in the gym, but he kept it hidden under a bunch of code just in case.

As they made it back to the tall brown fox's dorm, Isaiah and Marshall sat down, with the latter smiling. "I got a plan." He showed his notes to Isaiah.

"Hmm... adding your own work to the script, eh?" The Director smiled. "Very intriguing indeed..."

"I don't know..." said Isaiah. "This is all too.. simplistic to me. Just beat him over the head with a weight?"

"What? It keeps it simple, and it avoids the usual torturing that I do," said Marshall.

"You are aware of how you're supposed to kill them, yes?" asked The Director. "By using their own vices against them?"

Marshall sighed. "I know that. But what am I going to do? I don't really have anything that I could show him that'd make him feel guilty. I know that I could maybe get away with it, but that's not a risk that I'm willing to take..." He scoffed. "And besides, that's a lot harder to do if I'm taking him out in the gym itself."

"That reminds me, hadn't you best go and see him?" asked Isaiah. "Just to check if you're still meeting up for tonight, that is."

"Yeah, that's a good plan," said Marshall. "Look, I'll figure out a way to kill him tonight. It'll involve using what he used to rely on against him. I'm just not sure how, though..."

"Well, you're a fine performer," said The Director. "I'm positive that you'll figure something out."

Marshall nodded. "Hell, I've got time. I may as well go and say hi."

Isaiah scratched the back of his head. "I'll stay here. I've got my own preparations to make. And besides, you don't need me to take you everywhere."

Marshall smiled. "Thanks for that. I'll be right back."

He then opened the door and left, heading out over to where the gym area was. Thankfully, even though he hadn't been there often, he did remember where it was, the route still in his head from visiting there a few days previously. He knocked on the door and opened it up to see Ellis walking out of his office.

"Oh, hey, Marshall!" said Ellis. "What... what can I do for you?"

"Oh, I was just making sure that we were still on for tonight," said Marshall.

"Ah, yes, we are," said Ellis. "My schedule is fairly clear. It's a good benefit to being a gym teacher, you know."

"Must be nice to have such a wide open schedule," Marshall said. "Anyway, thanks for letting me know. I'll see you then."

He turned to leave, but Ellis called out. "Wait."

"What is it?"

Ellis sighed. "I'm just letting you know, my training methods aren't always... perfect. If you don't get your power from one session, don't be surprised, okay?"

"Oh... yeah, it's cool," said Marshall. "No worries."

"Good." The gym teacher cleared his throat. "All right, I'll let you be on your way."

Marshall nodded, and he turned to leave again, this time managing to do so without any further interruptions. He made it to his dorm room, and he laid back on his bed as he got a pen and paper ready, writing things down on it in thought.

"What are you planning?" asked The Director.

"I got a good look around the gym before, so I'm just writing down a plan here," said Marshall. "Isaiah, could you do this part for me?"

The prefect looked it over. "I certainly can."

"Good," Marshall nodded. "All right... this should work..." He scribbled some stuff further down, then took a picture of it with his phone, sending it to Isaiah.

"Ah... I see what you mean," said Isaiah.

Marshall smiled. "All right... just a little bit more... and there."

The Director chuckled. "This... is a good plan."

The brown fox smiled. "Now, we wait."

And wait, they all did. The rest of the college day went on as normal, with Marshall going to a few classes here and there, but he was mostly refining what he could of his plan. After his last class was finished, he left the room to see that Isaiah wasn't there. He kept looking and soon saw the man in question walking over to him.

"Where were you?" asked Marshall.

"Oh, I was taking care of something private," said Isaiah, nodding knowingly. "Ready to get going?"

"Yeah, sure."

They both turned to head back to their dorm room, and they picked up what they needed from there before heading over to the gym. After they got there, Isaiah left Marshall to it, and he walked in to see Ellis and an assistant teacher helping some other students work out.

"Oh, Marshall!" Ellis waved. "Hello there!"

"Hey there," said Marshall. "I don't mean to get involved. Going to save my energy for tonight's class. I'm just going to sit and watch, since my classes are done."

"Ah, cool," said Ellis, looking at a bad that Marshall had. "What's that? Workout gear? You want to put it on?"

"Oh, no," said Marshall. "I'll wait until you're all done to put these on."

Ellis simply nodded in reply, and he went back to teaching. As he did, Marshall watched him closely, inspecting his movements and paying attention to how close Ellis got to his students. If he ever was a paedophile, he was doing a great job of convincing Marshall that that wasn't the case.

The classes went on and on, and students came and went, with the assistant teacher leaving to go home and leaving Ellis to do the rest of the classes by himself. Even without extra help and with fewer students around, Ellis was proving how helpful he was, not getting too close to anyone that was being trained.

Soon, the last student had left, waving goodbye. After they'd left, Marshall turned his head slightly to see Isaiah peek out the doorway, giving him a subtle nod. Marshall nodded back, clearing his throat and standing up with his bag, walking past Ellis.

"All right, I'd best get changed if we're going to continue, huh?" asked the tall fox.

"Oh, yes, we should," said Ellis. "You can change privately in one of those rooms." He pointed to a pair of doors. "Or out here. It's up to you."

"I'll not risk it," Marshall joked.

"I promise that I won't look," said Ellis.

"Hmm... all right..." Marshall said.

The trainer smiled and turned around, even keeping his eyes closed. As he did, he didn't notice the power to the room going out, and he heard footsteps as well, assuming that it was just Marshall changing, which he was indeed doing. Ellis did notice the sound of a weight being picked up, however.

"You starting without me?" Ellis chuckled. "Well, if you're done, I suppose there's no harm in opening my eyes." He did, and saw nothing but blackness around him. "Dammit... the power's out... Marshall? Are you still here?"

"I'm here," said Marshall, his outfit on. His mask allowed him to see Ellis clearly in the dark, so he walked up behind him with the weight in hand. "And don't worry... we can still work up a sweat even in the dark."

"What do you-"

Ellis was silenced as a weight hit the back of his head, knocking him unconscious instantly. His body was dragged over, as was some of the gym equipment, and he was soon tied to one of the workout chairs, also gagged so that he couldn't move. After a little bit, his eyes blinked open, but he still saw darkness, and he let out muffled screams.

"You have him right where you want him..." said The Director. "And your plan has worked perfectly so far."

Marshall smiled under his mask. "I'm sure that you're wondering why you're all tied up. The reason why is simple, Ellis... you're a sinner. A sick freak. You used to take pictures of little kids for your own pleasure, and that's after the more... physical stuff that you did to children."

"That's it... keep feeding him every line," said The Director in Marshall's head. "Use your sense of conviction to make him feel every sin that he has ever committed in his putrid little life..."

Marshall growled. "You know, I've dealt with murderers and addicts and all sorts of bad people. But if there's one thing that I can't stand, it's people like you. People who prey on those weaker than them, smaller than them. And of that group, I hate the sickos that think that they can get away with it."

"And what's more..." said The Director.

"And what's more..." Marshall repeated.

"You have pictures right now..."

"You have pictures right now..." Marshall repeated again.

"In your pocket... are pictures of a young Cosmo..."

"In your pocket..." Marshall paused a bit. "Are pictures of a girl..."

"You can say her name..." said The Director. "He won't even live to tell it after all this."

Marshall replied by removing Ellis' gag. "How could you? How could you lie to people and to yourself that you were over your addiction?"

Ellis coughed a bit before replying. "I don't know... what... you mean..."

"Bullshit! You know every word of it! And I'm going to find what I'm looking for!"

Marshall patted his hands around Ellis' pockets, and he soon found what he was looking for. True to The Director's word, it was a picture of a young Cosmo, who couldn't have been much older than 5 or 6 at the time. Marshall then noticed a small flap behind it, and pulled it down to reveal a row of photos, all of Cosmo, and all attached to each other.

"You have to... understand..." said Ellis. "That was... a long... time ago... and I never... touched that girl..."

Marshall's turned back, and he felt a weird thrumming in his head. But it wasn't painful, so he kept his focus on Ellis, grabbing him by the collar. "It's fitting that you die here... and that I turn what you loved so dearly against you..."

He then took off his mask, knowing for a fact that Ellis couldn't see him in the dark, and he didn't speak, instead gagging Ellis again before turning around and leaning against a nearby wall. He took a few deep breaths, but not loud enough that his captive could hear him.

"Are you having second thoughts?" asked The Director.

Marshall grunted. "The pictures... how did you get them?"

"Ellis... well, I told you about his problems. He took those a long time ago. I remember seeing his pleasure at the photos... I remember seeing him panting at the thought of having them all to his own. He took a lot of pictures of a lot of little children, but Cosmo... ooh, she was a favourite of his."

Marshall exhaled through his nose. "I want him to see me..."

"Are you insane?" The Director asked.

Marshall ignored The Director, going over to the light switch and pressing it. Ellis' eyes turned to see Marshall stalking over to him, but still wearing the X Killer suit, so the gym teacher could only see the tall fox's face as he got back in front of him.

Marshall pulled down Ellis' gym shorts. "You... have this one coming..."

He pushed Ellis' thighs apart, and he pulled a knife from his suit, slicing it across Ellis' penis. Ellis screamed into the gag loudly, and began to cough blood from the pain of it. But he didn't get the chance to look down at the damage, even hearing his now detached organ land on the floor.

"I'm not fucking done!" Marshall grunted.

He kept the legs apart, and he soon sliced off the gym teacher's testicles as well. Much like with his penis, he screamed again, and blood began to seep past the gag this time. Seeing it as useless, Marshall removed the gag, keeping one hand over Ellis' mouth instead, with his knife over his throat.

"Why... why did you do this?" Marshall asked, his eyes started to water and his head starting to thrum again. "How could you do that to such a sweet young girl?! Answer me!"

The fox moved his hand away, and Ellis spat some blood out. "I ain't got long left on this earth anyway... and it's a shame..." Ellis coughed more. "If... if I could have gone back... I would have done more than take those pictures." Ellis grinned. "I... I would have taken that girl in... made her mine... made sure that she never forgot what it was like to have her will taken from her..." Ellis laughed a bit and spat out more blood. "That's why I went after kids... to see them lose that innocence... and to be the one that always took that away. My only regret... is not being able to take that little girl's virginity when I had the chance..."

Marshall growled, and he let that thrumming course through his body. He dropped the knife, and he let out a loud, searing, roaring scream. As he did, several bolts of electricity shot out of his body, hitting the lights to shut them off, causing equipment to fall, and even causing glass to shatter. Marshall, instead of focusing on that, grabbed Ellis' head, letting his newfound powers do their work.

"Even if you somehow live through this," said Marshall, "which you won't... I'm going to make damn fucking sure that you never even get the chance to look at another kid..."

He pressed harder, and Ellis' eyes exploded and burnt out from the shock-waves. But Marshall kept holding on to his face, letting more of his power flow out, causing Ellis' face to get burnt, with some of the skin melting off too as his pained screams soon died down. After a few more seconds of holding it, Marshall let go, panting heavily as he fell back onto his knees.

"Dammit..." he said to himself.

The Director spoke to him. "What a third act! And you discovered your power as well! Oh, you are well in for my best performer yet!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Marshall said.

The Director chuckled. "I'll call Isaiah to get this all cleaned up." He paused. "Oh, and don't forget the knife."

Marshall nodded, picking up the knife that he dropped, and he made a quick note to slice Ellis' throat with it before putting it back away. He reached around to find his mask, and just as he did, ready to put it back on, a light shone on his face.

"Wait..." said a familiar voice. "Marshall?"

Marshall looked up to see Hyder. "Shit..."

* * *

 **And there you have it! Sorry that this one took a little while. Things... happened last week, but I'm feeling in a better mood now. I hope that you all enjoyed this one, and I'll see you hopefully sooner than this time for more Love And War. Until then, take care, and stay tuned.**


	18. Shocking Developments

**Several hours before Ellis' death...**

Tails sighed as he waved at Marshall after dropping him off at college. He turned his car back around and drove back to his and Cream's house, entering the door and looking around. He let out another sigh, but smiled as he saw his love sat down.

"Hey there," he said happily, sitting with her.

"Hi," Cream smiled back. "How was your drive?"

"It was nice," said Tails. "To be honest, it felt good to drive him back there. I sort of missed doing that, like when we did it the first time."

"Did you talk about much on the way back?" Cream giggled.

"Well... it turns out that our boy is a man now," Tails said.

"What do you mean?" Cream asked.

"Well, he and Cosmo... consummated their relationship," Tails gulped. "Marshall lost his... you know what..."

Cream blushed. "Like when you lost yours to me?"

The yellow fox nodded. "Yeah... but maybe not so much. Unless you were a green plant girl all this time and I just never knew."

Cream giggled and shook her head. "Well, I'm not not saying that, but..."

Tails chuckled and hugged her close. "I knew it!"

"Hehe!" The cream and orange rabbit kissed him. "So, what are your plans for the day?"

Tails shrugged. "Mostly, just go around to see father Zachary and Espio, make sure that the appointments are still on."

"And then go to work?" Cream asked.

Tails nodded. "And then go to work. But I'll be back before you know it."

Cream smiled and kissed him deeply. "I miss you when you're gone, you know..."

Tails sighed. "I know..." He kissed her back. "I don't have to leave right now, I guess..."

Cream giggled, and pulled Tails on top of her. After a little while, the two were partially naked, curled up in a blanket, and still on the couch. Tails' soft purring sounded nice to Cream's ears, which he petted and played with as they stayed sat.

"You know..." Cream said. "It'd be nice to... have our own kid..."

Tails smiled. "We have our own kid."

"I mean... ours..." Cream took Tails' hand and put it on her stomach. "I... I don't want to take any birth control for it..."

"Cream..." Tails began.

"I know what you're going to say," Cream said. "But... I really just want our own child. I love Marshall, so much. But... imagine us... a kid that's ours... I love you, and I know that we should get married first, but... I don't want to wait. I know that money is still a problem, especially with Marshall still going to college, and we'd need to make a new room, paint it, get the stuff ready for the baby... I know that it'd be too much. But it was too much when we adopted Marshall, and we did a fantastic job as parents. If we could do all of that for a kid that isn't even related to us, then... why can't we try it for our own kid?"

"Cream..." Tails gently pushed her away to look into her eyes. "There's still a monster out there. A monster that kills indiscriminately. He won't care if he sees a pregnant rabbit on the street, or someone who actually deserves death. He'll kill you." Tails breathed. "That... that's why I didn't want kids when we told Marshall he was adopted a few years ago. That was about when the X Killer was starting to become a cult name. I want another kid, I do. But until our streets are safe from a monster like the X Killer? I... I don't think that we should try for kids. I want to, but not until it's right."

Cream sniffled. "In that case, it's not safe for our own kid, is it?"

Tails shook his head. "I'm doing all that I can to catch this son of a bitch. You have to believe me." He took her hand and kissed it. "One day, I promise... we'll have kids. We'll give Marshall as many little brothers and sisters as possible, and they can all bug him and use him as a giant bed when we're sick of looking after them." He smiled. "But... we can't right now. I don't want to right now."

Cream looked up at him. "I know... but... I really, really want to know that feeling... having our own little one, made by us... and Marshall would love it, surely."

Tails smiled. "I know that he will." He kissed her neck softly, then he checked his phone. "Oh, shit... I'm going to be late." He got out from the seat, stretching.

"We should get dressed first... and clean up..." Cream suggested.

"We should," Tails nodded. "Wait, we? You're coming with me?"

Cream giggled, also getting up from the seat. "I don't see a reason why I can't."

"Fair point," Tails chuckled.

So, the two got out of their seat and went to shower and get themselves all cleaned up, putting on fresh clothes as well. After they were done, Tails got coffee in a thermos, and he kissed Cream on the cheek before leaving the house. He went to his car and drove for his first destination, which was the church.

He reached the destination in question, and he found a parking space for his car. He walked into the church, reminiscing that it had been a while since he last visited himself. He saw that father Zachary was busy in the confessional, so he sat on a pew and sighed to himself.

"Are you all right?" someone next to him asked.

Tails turned to see an old woman and smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"It's just... you seem uncomfortable..." she said.

"Oh, I'm not here to pray," Tails said. "I'm here to make sure that the appointment for my son tomorrow is still set up."

"Your son? Hmm... would he happen to be tall, brown, and surprisingly fluffy?"

Tails smiled. "That's him. Marshall, his name is. You've seen him around, I take it?"

"Not since the last time that he was here," said the woman. "I didn't talk to him, but considering what that poor boy went through and how much more he was visiting the church just to get help... it was hard not to notice him walking through."

Tails nodded. "Yeah. I'm hoping that he'll walk through here again. He's been doing well at college, but he hasn't come here in a while."

The woman smiled. "Well, how about you try a little bit of prayer?"

"Oh, that's a good idea, but I'm not going to be here long," Tails said.

"No, I insist," the woman smiled.

The yellow fox sighed, shaking his head and smiling from the corner of his mouth. He then cleared his throat, putting his hands together and closing his eyes. "Okay. Um... God, if you can hear any of this... I know that Marshall isn't perfect. He's had his own flaws to get past, but he's come so far. He's worked hard to get to where he is. I just... I hope that he's safe from the madman that's out there, killing people. I hope that we find that son of a... gun... and lock him up as soon as we can. And, please, let Marshall find out his power as well." He breathed, opening his eyes again. "Amen."

The old woman smiled. "Very good. You were a bit rough around the edges, though."

Tails shrugged. "It's been a while. But... thank you."

"I just hope that it helps," said the old lady.

"I do too..."

"Tails," said Zachary, walking over. "Good to see you here."

"Oh, you too," Tails nodded, seeing a young teen walk past. He thanked the father before leaving the church proper. "What was that all about?"

Zachary smiled. "Well, you remember Marshall coming out to me as bi through a confessional before he told you?"

Tails nodded again. "Yeah. What, that kid did the same?"

"Came out as gay," said Zachary. "I didn't give him a bible or an all-loving God speech, as I find the bible to be a falsity in relation to what the Good Lord truly speaks. The words, psalms, and prayers aside, he truly does love all."

"I don't doubt that," Tails smiled. "Anyway, I just came to see if Marshall's appointment was still on for tomorrow."

"Oh, of course," said Zachary. "How's he been doing at college, by the way?"

"Oh, he's been doing pretty well," Tails replied. "Still doesn't know his powers yet, but we're praying that he'll get them soon."

Zachary chuckled at that. "Then I shall also pray for him. Is that all?"

Tails nodded. "Yeah. I was just checking."

Zachary shook his head. "It is odd to make appointments when it comes to the confessional booth, considering that anybody could just go in there and confess. But it is nice to help people. That is all that I plan to do."

The two-tailed fox smiled. "Thanks, Father. Anyway, I should get going. Need to see Espio and reaffirm that appointment as well."

"Of course. God be with you," said Zachary.

"I'd say the same, but I don't think that I need to," Tails chuckled.

He then turned and left the church, going back to his car. He pulled out from his parking space, and made his way for Espio's psychiatry building. Since the parking lot there was a lot bigger, Tails had to fight a bit harder to get a good space, and soon after finding one, he parked, heading into the building.

"Excuse me," he said to the woman at the front desk. "I'm here to see Dr. Espio. Is he in?"

"He always is," said the secretary. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No, I'm here to set one up for Marshall," Tails said.

The woman looked up at him. "Oh, he's your son! I knew I recognised you. Espio is seeing a client right now, but if you'd like to take a seat, I'll let him know that your'e here."

"Sounds good," Tails said. "Thank you."

He went and took said seat, sitting next to some other people waiting to see somebody. One or two had left to see different doctors there, and Tails found himself reading a magazine to pass the time when he got a text on his phone. He stopped reading and got his phone from his pocket to look.

"Honey?" he said to himself, reading the text. "New discovery has been made, could link to the case... huh..."

"Tails?" the secretary asked. "Espio is ready to see you."

"Oh, right," Tails said.

He got up from his seat, putting his phone in his pocket and going up to Espio's office. He remembered the route there from the times he took Marshall here when the younger fox first started showing signs of his own anxiety issues. He soon found the right door and knocked on it.

"Come in, Tails," said Espio.

Tails walked in. "Hey there, doc."

Espio smiled up at the two-tailed fox. "So, what brings you here, exactly?"

"Oh, I'm just here to make sure that Marshall is still on for his appointment tomorrow. I just got back from the church and checking with father Zachary, so the next move was to come here."

Espio nodded. "Of course. That makes sense. And he is still on for his appointment. I just hope that you can make sure that he's going to turn up tomorrow."

"Look," Tails said, "I know that he hasn't showed up in a while, but I will make sure that he arrives. After my shift, I'm going to call him on his phone and make sure."

"Good," Espio said. "Because... well, I've missed talking to him."

"Really?" Tails asked. "Why?"

"There's just something so real about him. He was never afraid to tell me how he felt," Espio sighed. "Most other people that walk through the door always feel like they're hiding something. And I didn't suspect the same of Marshall until he stopped turning up. Then again, with him being busy at college and trying to learn his powers, I can understand why he hasn't showed up."

"It would be easier if he did," Tails said. "Paying to keep sending him to college isn't a huge issue, but it wouldn't hurt by making sure that he was still getting therapy either."

"My door is always open for him," Espio said. "So, is that all?"

Tails nodded, and was about to leave before stopping. "Actually, no."

"Oh? Should I start recording this?" Espio smirked a bit.

Tails chuckled. "No, nothing like that. Uh... on one of the last days that we had him before he went to college, I'd sort of train with him to check if he had powers. Teach him to spin his tail, maybe try using his fangs and claws, that sort of thing. But since all of this shit with the X Killer... I haven't really found the time." He sighed. "I mean, yeah, the college teaching him through certain courses does help, but..."

"I understand," Espio said. "You wish to be there for him, but the recent killings and so on, not to mention some disappearances, are worrying you."

Tails gulped. "Honestly, I'm fortunate if he answers his phone. Not because he's ignoring me on purpose, but because of what's out there being capable of causing such damage."

"You're just worried for him. It's a natural thing for a father, adoptive or otherwise, to feel," Espio nodded.

"Thanks," Tails said.

Espio nodded. "Of course." His phone then buzzed. "Ah, my next appointment is here. Sorry, Tails, but you really do have to go now."

"Oh, yeah, sure," the yellow fox said. "Thanks for your time."

The purple chameleon smiled. "Pay me next time!"

Tails shook his head before shaking hands with Espio. He turned to leave, opening the door for the next person to enter before leaving. He headed back out to his car, starting the engine up and smiling to himself. He pulled the car from the lot, and sent a quick text message to Cream before heading back to the station. As soon as he pulled up to his place of work, he saw Honey waiting for him there. Curious, Tails looked over at her and raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Tails, nothing is wrong," Honey said. "But... we need to talk. About Marshall's college."

"What... what do you mean?" Tails asked.

"A couple of his teachers have disappeared over the past couple of weeks," said Honey. "It... it could be a link..."

Tails sighed. "Just when I was looking forward to not having to deal with this..." He shook his head. "All right, let's see what's up. I need to call him after I'm done here anyway, make sure that he's okay." He followed Honey to the main office, looking up at the board that they'd made, and his eyes looked back and forth. "Oh... I see what you mean by that link..."

Honey nodded. "We need to get to the bottom of this..."

"On a day where I really didn't want this... fucking figures..." Tails scratched his neck. "Where are you going next, you sick son of a bitch?"

* * *

 **Present time, after Marshall killed Ellis...**

"Marshall?" asked a voice.

The brown fox in question looked over to see Hyder. "Shit..."

"What... what is... going on?"

"Now, I know that this looks... weird..." Marshall said, looking to see a shadow moving behind Hyder. He then reached to put his mask back on. "But, I have my reasons. This... this guy was evil..."

"You... you killed- MMF!"

Isaiah then quickly snaked his arms around Hyder's neck, beginning to choke him out, and as he kept going, Marshall noticed that he was going a little bit too hard. He walked over and grabbed Isaiah's arms, trying to separate them.

"Let him go!" Marshall said.

"Let him go?" Isaiah asked. "He saw too much! He knows who you are!"

"He's a friend!" said Marshall. "Maybe the old version of him would tell people, but not this new version!"

"Marshall, you are a murderer."

"I'm only a murderer because of this sick fucking thing that's stuck in my head!" Marshall said. "You have that same thing in your head too! What fucking right do you have to judge me? At least I'm killing people who are horrible!" Marshall gestured. "He... he raped children... took pictures of... Cosmo... and you fucking knew... all along..." He heard a rumble outside, and saw some rain start to pour heavily, not to mention seeing the night setting in.

"Enough of this!" said Isaiah. "You need to get out of here, now!"

"Not if you're going to kill Hyder!" said Marshall. "He's coming with me!"

"We don't have time to waste!" said The Director. "Isaiah, do as Marshall says! Hyder walks free! Just put him in Marshall's room for now before security gets there!"

Isaiah grunted at the brown fox. "This isn't over, you know."

He turned to leave, and Marshall pushed his head into his hands, quickly reaching to put his mask back on. "This is beyond fucked."

"You think so?" asked The Director. "You're the one who had that outburst."

"And you're the ones who caused it!" Marshall then turned and headed for the broken window, jumping down the side of the building and using some parts of it to try to climb down with more ease. "And you have no fucking right to- AH!" He gripped a part with some broken glass, and he looked at his cut hand.

"Keep going!" said The Director. "We can't stay here!"

Marshall kept trying to climb down, but the combination of the rainy night and his damaged hand saw him soon slipping and falling down to the ground. He managed to pull himself up, noticing the rain landing on his outfit, and looked to see some cameras searching overhead. He gulped and tried to sneak around them as best as he could.

"This is such a bad plan..." he said to himself as he kept moving.

"Check around here!" said a voice. "I think I heard something!"

Marshall panicked, and he peeked around the corner to see some security guards closing in on him, complete with flashlights. The fox took a breath and calmed down, turning to double back and sneak past an archway outside the college, ducking under it. He waited for the guards to pass by before continuing to make his way around the college.

"That was... close..." said The Director. "What's the next plan of action?"

"Find the floor with my dorm room and get back up there," said Marshall. He kept going around the building and looked up. "And there is that floor. I have to climb up there..."

"Use your height to your advantage," said The Director. "And be careful of the cameras. They are starting to regain power now."

Marshall shook his head, jumping up and gripping onto the side of the building, but slipping off. "It's no use! I can't get up there!"

"Improvise!" said The Director. "Is there a fire escape?"

Marshall kept looking, using the lights in the mask. "There is! I just need to knock it down with something!" He looked around, reaching for a large stick and trying to reach for the fire escape ladder. "Come on... I got this..."

He reached up more, and soon managed to bring it down, putting the stick away before climbing the ladder up. He remembered to pick it up with him and slide it back into place again before going up the stairs, soon finding the door to the floor which had his room.

He was about to enter when he saw some guards moving about outside, so he ducked under and looked past the side of the fire escape. He saw a small railing that he could use, and he grabbed onto it, flipping himself around and swinging to grab a slab of the building.

"Whoa!" He gasped. "Okay... I got this... I got this..."

He kept his grip and shimmied along, being careful as to not get caught before he reached his room. He got inside, managing to open the window wide enough to get through before closing it carefully behind himself. He then looked down at his clothes before removing them, thankful that the suit hadn't let any rain seep into his fur.

"Shit..." he said, looking down at his still cut up hand.

He packed the suit up and put it away as best as he could before heading quickly to the bathroom. He turned the tap on and began cleaning his hands, about to reach for the toilet paper to clean it with before he lurched and hunched over.

He was soon leaning over the toilet bowl, and it wasn't long until he was vomiting into it. He coughed and kept sputtering, more coming out as he rubbed his sides in pain. The things that he was forced to do, especially with what else had happened, not to mention his powers coming through... it was all too much to take at once.

The tall brown fox did eventually stop, and he cleaned himself up. "Fuck..." He dried himself and reached for this cupboard to put some night clothes, yawning heavily and checking the time. "I... need to go to sleep..."

As he headed for his room, Isaiah walked in with Hyder still in tow. "You have no clue how lucky that you are," he said.

"What... what is this?" Marshall asked tiredly.

"This is your problem," said Isaiah. "Get him some blankets. He sleeps on the floor. We will talk about what to do with him tomorrow."

"How'd you get him up here?"

"I explained that the shock of what happened spooked him," said Isaiah. "Simple stuff. Now, get to bed. We have a lot to discuss."

Isaiah then left before anything, and Marshall tried talking to The Director, but he seemed to have left too. Sighing heavily, Marshall picked Hyder up and laid him in his bed, grabbing some blankets and a spare pillow to sleep on the floor next to him. He still felt cold, so he went and got Diez from the drawer to help him sleep easier, with a couple of sleeping pills downed for good measure to help.

"I am so not looking forward to tomorrow..." he sighed.

* * *

 **And another one of these chapters! Crazy to think that both this and Love And War might be over soon. But I'm going to work as much as I can to make them both entertaining before they reach their conclusions, and I hope that you people continued to enjoy it. Until the next one, take care, and stay tuned.**


	19. Nobody Can Fix Me

The next morning, Marshall woke up, turning to see Hyder still asleep on the floor. The tall fox winced a bit and tried to get out of bed without making too much noise. He managed to slip out of his bed and sneak over to his cupboard. He grabbed some clothes for the day and sneaked into the bathroom to change, coming out of said bathroom when he was done. He looked down at Hyder and sighed.

"God... I'm really sorry about all this..." he said.

As he said that, Hyder's eyes opened slowly. They then widened when he saw Marshall, and he panicked, getting up off the floor and backing away slowly. His eyes were open and his chest heaved with huge breaths as he looked Marshall up and down, his eyes stopping at the cut on the fox's hand before he pointed.

"You... you're a murder!" Hyder said.

Marshall quickly moved over and put his uninjured hand on Hyder's mouth. "I... I need to explain it, even though you really wouldn't believe me." He sighed. "Just... please... try to keep the noise down..."

Hyder nodded, and Marshall removed his hand. Soon, the jackal started to speak. "You... you killed somebody..."

"I killed somebody who... who deserved it..."

"Oh? Under what logic?" asked Hyder.

The Director then appeared in Marshall's head. "You may as well tell him the whole truth. He knows about you now. It'd be wrong to keep lying to him, don't you think?"

"Even about you?" asked Marshall.

"You may as well," said The Director. "Isaiah too."

"Who are you talking too?" Hyder asked. "We... we need to get you help. This isn't right."

Marshall sighed. "No, it's... it's messed up, I'll admit that. But I've got two appointments to keep today with two very important people." He sat across from Hyder, leaning against his bed and sighing. "Hyder... I have this voice in my head... a voice called The Director. He gives me targets. Horrible people who did really, really bad things. I kill those people."

"The Director?" Hyder asked. "What, are you his main star?"

"In a manner of speaking, yeah," Marshall nodded. "The outfit that you saw me in is my costume. Hyder... I'm the X Killer."

"That psychopath that's been going around in the news?" asked Hyder. "Wait... does that mean you killed those people in the apartment building? The gay couple and all that?"

"No, that... that was the X Killer before me," said Marshall. "The X Killer isn't one person. It's more like a title. It's passed from one person to the next. Or, in my experience, maybe the right phrase is that it's forced upon the next person."

"What happened to the one before you?" asked Hyder.

"He... he couldn't go through with a job, so he was killed. I got knocked out woke up in a weird room like something out of those Saw movies, and I get told that there's an electrical device stuck in my brain and that my family and friends will all die if I don't do what I'm told."

"And... what you're told to do is... kill people?"

"Bad people," said Marshall. "Ellis... he was my third. He... he was a paedophile. He had pictures of kids, probably videos too. I don't know if he ever assaulted the kids themselves, but... he did bad things. He even..." Marshall froze.

"Tell him..." said The Director.

Marshall shook his head. "He had pictures of Cream when she was little. That... that's what made me get angry last night. That's what all the noise was. The night before, Cosmo and I... we..." The brown fox shook his head.

"Oh..." said Hyder. "You... I get it." He nodded. "It's probably not going to do you any good, but... congratulations?"

"Thanks..." said Marshall. "I guess..."

"So, who else knows?" asked Hyder.

"There's me, The Director, you, and Isaiah," said Marshall. "Isaiah is undercover here as a prefect. He's acting as my guide through the college because I'm here to learn my powers. Or that's what we have to make everyone think now, at least..."

Hyder sat up at that. "Your power? You have it now?"

"I can control electricity," said Marshall. "Or something like that. I only discovered it last night."

"Well, it's no problem, right?" said Hyder. "You can still come to college here and go to more classes now that you have your powers."

"True, but it'd be weird if everyone just assumed that I got them overnight," said Marshall. "I can't risk that. It'd raise too much suspicion."

"All right, well... when did it all start?" asked Hyder.

"The night when we all went to the lake," said Marshall. "I got back home, but I wasn't there for long. I sneaked out late at night."

"Why?"

"Because I'd been keeping up to date with what the X Killer before me was up to," said Marshall. "Since my foster father is a cop, and since he's protective of me, he doesn't really like me looking at all that stuff. It worries him." He paused. "And, also... I was having these weird hallucinations. I saw it in my dreams sometimes, but mostly it was in real life. You know that area with two trees where the recent bodies were found?"

"Yeah..." said Hyder.

"I... I saw something there. I saw someone caught between those trees, and it looked like someone hitting him in the back, like they were being whipped or flogged or something. Or I thought I saw that, at least. I blinked my eyes and it was just a pair of normal trees. But on the night when we went to that lake... when I got back home... that curiosity took me over. I had to know what was there, and when I got there... that's basically when all of this started." Marshall sighed. "And that's pretty much the whole truth."

"Are... are there any more targets?" asked Hyder.

Marshall nodded. "Yeah. Ellis was my third, and I have one more. Then I'm done. I'll turn myself over if need be."

"Who is this last one?" asked Hyder.

"Let's see..." Marshall said. "First was the animal abuser, then the substance abuser, then the child abuser... I think that it's a sex worker last."

"Do you know their name?" asked Hyder.

"No. I haven't even gotten the file that tells me who they are," Marshall said. "And because The Director likes to give me a break after a stressful scene... I probably won't find out for a few days. A week at the most."

Hyder shook his head. "This... this is beyond fucked up."

"I know," said Marshall. "Over this past month and such... nobody's known just how fucked up it is more than me." He looked over to Hyder. "But I promise you, after the last one... it's all over. You just have to keep this secret for a little bit longer, and that's it."

"For... for a little bit longer?" asked Hyder. "Marshall, even when you stop wearing the suit, even when you stop killing people... nothing is ever going to change what I saw. I don't care if you ditch the mantle when it's done or if you keep the suit and go on a bad guy murdering spree. I... I never thought that you, of all people, would be capable of this."

"I didn't either," said Marshall. "I take no pride in it, Hyder. You have to believe me. I... I used to believe more strongly in God. In forgiveness. With the first two victims, that was difficult. Then finding out what Ellis did... that took God out of the picture for me." He scoffed. "And the ironic thing is, since I have time off, I'm going to be visiting Father Zachary later."

"Then I'm coming with you," said Hyder.

"I'll be fine on my own," said Marshall. "What, are you afraid that I'm going to kill him too? To my knowledge, he hasn't done anything wrong. For as long as I've known him, he's been helpful, and kind."

"That doesn't change the fact that I'm going with you," said Hyder. "I have some time off too, because I'm also a student here."

Marshall's eyes widened. "Oh... shit..." He covered his head in his hands. "The text messages... the sudden appearance last night..."

"Yeah," said Hyder. "Surprise. I'm going to this college now. And thankfully, my roommate isn't a psychopath."

"I'm not a psycho!" said Marshall. "I have this voice in my head, and-"

"You expect me to believe that?" asked Hyder. "Do you honestly think that I'm dumb enough to buy into that as an excuse? You need help, Marshall. I didn't spend all this time getting here, going to therapy, studying, I didn't do all of that just to come and see the most honest, kind person that I know start murdering people."

"Honest? Kind?" Marshall said, standing up. "Every time that you saw me in the halls at school, you couldn't resist a slur against my ethnicity, or my sexual orientation. On my sixteenth birthday, you tried to make amends and set me up with a boy who you knew that I liked, only to pull a mean prank on me. If I was so honest and kind, then why did you push me around like that?"

"You think you're the only one with issues?" Hyder asked, also standing. "You're not fucking special because of your race or who you love. That's why I always resented you. Not because you're bi, but because you always seemed to use that as an excuse to get better treatment. When I saw you studying and actually working... that's when I wanted to get better too. Now, I know that it isn't going to change the pranks that I pulled or the shit that I said, but all that you have to know is that I'm here now. And I'm not here for you, I'm here for me." He paused. "Look, like it or not, we're going to be seeing each other at this college now. Probably a lot. So, all that I ask is that you be honest with me."

Marshall sighed, and turned as he saw a figure outside the door. He went over and saw Isaiah through the peephole, stepping aside to let him in. "I was wondering when you'd get here."

"Yeah, well, I was spending most of the morning cleaning up your mess," said Isaiah. "You're lucky that the faculty bought what happened last night as a freak accident due to the storm."

"Um... who are you?" Hyder asked.

"I'm Isaiah," said the prefect. "I'm basically the guy who has to keep an eye on Marshall and make sure that he follows The Director's instructions to the letter."

Hyder shook his head. "Wow, okay, so... you're both crazy. Well, hey, Director! Or whatever the fuck your name is! Can you hear me too? Are you inside my head? What, do you want me to kill somebody?" He called out to the room, turning to Isaiah and Marshall when he was done. "What a fucking joke..."

Isaiah then slightly opened his coat, showing a gun and knife hidden in a side pocket. "It's really not a joke," Isaiah said. "Everything that Marshall has told you this morning is true. Every last word of it. The Director is a real person, although nobody has ever seen his face."

"We just know that he's British," Marshall said. "And, like I said, I need to do whatever he tells me to do because... well, if I don't, he'll kill my family. Chances are that he'll kill you too, Hyder."

"That doesn't exactly fill me with confidence," Hyder said. "Fine. I really, really don't like the idea of this, but... dammit, I guess that I'm in too deep now."

"Thank you," Marshall said. "Now, uh... let's go get some breakfast. I know a place."

"You go it alone, actually," said Hyder. "I need to get back to my dorm room so that I can get changed."

"Yeah, uh... sure," Marshall said. "See you around."

Hyder stayed quiet as he turned to leave, with Isaiah helping him back to finding his dorm. Marshall sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed, taking out his phone and flipping through it. He had a few missed texts asking if he was okay due to the storm the previous night, and the reminders of who he had to visit today too.

He then put his phone away, making sure that he was cleaned up before leaving his dorm room. He left and exited the building to get himself some breakfast, which was a hot-dog with extra tomato ketchup on it, and after he ate, he went to the nearest bus stop, waiting for a bus to come along.

"I should have Isaiah out here with you," said The Director. "It's not safe out here."

"I'll be fine," Marshall said, looking around. He saw people approached, and got out his phone, pretending to talk into it. "Yeah, no, it'll be okay."

"Are you sure?" The Director asked. "Because he's not busy with Hyder any more. I can just call him over, if you'd like."

"That won't be necessary," said Marshall, turning as he heard a noise. "All right, bus is here. I've got to go. Yeah... I love you to, mum."

The Director chuckled at that, and Marshall shook his head, getting onto the bus and paying for a ticket. He found a seat and listened to some music as the bus took him to where he needed to be, which was a few blocks away from the church. As that's where he was going first anyway, he managed to get there in little time.

"Ah, Marshall!" said Father Zachary.

The tall brown fox looked around, seeing more people on the pews than usual. "Looks like you've got a full line here. I should come back later."

"Nonsense," said Zachary. "Your father made an appointment for you, and I'm going to help you keep it. Come join me in the booth."

Marshall nodded, following and getting inside said booth. He heard Zachary sit on the other side and took a breath. "I... I don't really know where to start..."

"Well, start at the beginning," said Zachary.

Marshall chuckled darkly. "Like God did with the Big Bang, right?"

"Well, if you're going to renounce your faith, this is quite way to do it," said Zachary.

"No, no, it's... it's not that," said Marshall. "I.. I still try and believe in God. Even if, sometimes, it feels like I've got the devil himself stuck in my head."

"What do you mean by that?"

Marshall sighed. "Well... it's like having that little voice in your head. You know the one that I'm talking about. That little voice that tells you to give in to your baser urges. To your lust, your desires. To become the most bare bones version of yourself in the worst way."

"I know that voice, regrettably," said the father. "Where is this going, my son?"

Marshall shook his head. "What if that voice was different? What if it didn't tell you to give in to those urges because it felt good, but instead because you had no other choice? Like, if it meant saving the people that you cared about, the people that you loved... and all that you would have to do is say yes to it. Follow its instructions, do as it says, and everything will be just fine and no harm will come to your loved ones, even if you're the one getting harmed for them."

"Hmm... that is quite the interesting question..." said Zachary. "We all have those voices in our heads. Oftentimes, those voices can be completely distinct from each other and they can convey different messages. You have those that want you to give in to your most raw self. You have those who will hold you hostage and force you to do their bidding. You have voices that will try to tempt you into certain things, other voices that will try to fill you with doubt over doing anything... and what's worse is that, compared to all of those, God himself can feel just like another voice in your head. An insignificant voice of hope, of positiveness, when all of the other voices of darkness, doubt, and hopelessness drown it out."

Marshall sighed, letting out some tears. "Father Zachary... you're a good man. I just... I really wanted to tell you that..." He sniffled. "I'm sorry that I haven't visited you in a while. I just... I can't make the excuse that I didn't have the time to stop coming here either."

"It's no worry," said Zachary, getting a tissue from his pocket and sliding it through the partition to Marshall. "Here."

"Thank you," Marshall said, using the tissue to wipe his eyes. "I... I learned my power last night."

"Oh, really?" Zachary smiled. "That is indeed fantastic news!"

"I know," Marshall said, blowing his nose. "I haven't told my parents yet, but I will soon. I might try and visit them tonight so that I can tell them together."

"What is your power, if I may ask?"

"Electricity," said Marshall. "Or something to that effect. I'm still learning it. But, the point is... I know what it is now."

"Well, that is a good thing to hear," said Zachary.

Marshall smiled. "And, me and that Cosmo girl... we're in a proper relationship now too. She makes me happy, and I can only hope that I'm making her happy too."

Zachary chuckled. "This is good news, even with the sea of doubt that you're currently trapped in."

"And one last thing," said Marshall. "That Hyder kid who used to bully me? Well... he's not like that any more. He showed up at the college last night and surprised me. He's come so far... I'm proud of him."

"As you should be," said Zachary. "Redemption is not an easy thing to gain, but when one puts their heart into it, God willing, they will be forgiven. I hope that Hyder has found a better path, regardless of his beliefs. And I hope that, despite the sea of doubt that you're in, that your beliefs will help you survive the current. And, as always, God be with you, my son."

Marshall nodded and cleared his throat. "Thank you again, Father."

They both left the booth, and Marshall went over to the holy water, crossing himself with it before turning back to Zachary. He reached and shook hands with him, smiling before the grip of both of their hands loosened. He turned around, managing to leave uninterrupted, and he was soon back at the nearest bus stop. He got out his phone to check the time when he noticed a missed text message from Tails.

"Marshall, we need to talk. Head over to home as soon as your college day is over," it said.

"This isn't good..." said Marshall.

He looked up and waited as the bus came, and while he did chastise himself for taking the bus for such a short trip, it did get him there much faster. He managed to find a good place a few blocks away to stop, and as he stepped out of the bus, he checked the time again, seeing that it was close to lunch.

He shrugged to himself and went inside the therapy building, going to the front desk. "I'm Marshall the fox. My father Tails made an appointment for me with Dr. Espio."

"Oh, of course, just take a seat over there," said the secretary. "He'll be with you shortly."

Marshall nodded, taking a seat as he waited. He passed the time by playing some games on his phone, listening to music as well, and he saw some other people around him get up and go up to different offices as well. Soon, his named was called up by the secretary.

"Espio is ready for you," she said. "Just head right on up."

"Thank you very much," Marshall replied.

He went up the stairs, finding Espio's office easily. He knocked on the door and waited for a little bit as Espio's current patient was just finishing up. Marshall stood aside and held the door as it opened from said patient leaving, and he even got a word of thanks before going into Espio's office proper.

"Sorry if I was interrupting anything," Marshall said.

"Ah, not at all," said Espio. "That was a first timer here. Going through a pretty bad divorce at the moment, and he's trying to stave off what caused the divorce which was his constant smoking. He was thanking me an awful lot for just one session."

"Well, addiction can be really bad for you," Marshall said, the delivery a bit darker than he'd intended.

"So... it's been a while," said Espio. "So long that your father had to set up the appointment for you."

"I know, I know," said Marshall, sitting down. "I don't really have the excuse of me working hard at college to learn my power. I could have picked and chosen my classes, and I did. I... I don't know. I guess that talking to you, talking to Zachary... it just fell to the wayside."

"Well, I've got an hour with you, so let's catch up. How has life been going for a bright spark such as you?"

Marshall chuckled a bit at that joke, and explained about the college. He talked about the positive atmosphere and how good the teachers were, the fact that learning students like him and proper students on scholarships weren't segregated, and so on. Obviously, he left out the parts of taking on a serial killer's mantle and the fact that his family was constantly at risk.

"And then, last night, during that storm," Marshall said, his story winding down, "I did it. I found out my power."

Espio chuckled. "What is it?"

"Some control over electricity," said the tall fox. "I just need to practise it a bit is all."

Espio shook his head. "That's incredible. That's... that's a huge breakthrough." He chuckled. "And the stuff about Cosmo and Hyder... that's incredible. It... it wasn't easy to talk to him at times. Especially when it came to you."

Marshall nodded. "I guess that I can understand that, in some ways..."

"But, once I did get through to him, once I did get on his level... it was refreshing watching him be so honest with who he was." Espio smiled. "His family life, his school life, a lot of it changed for him. He started to get a lot better over time, and the fact that he's still coming here now that he's made it to college just proves how far he's come along."

"I'm glad that you're talking about the man who used to put me through hell in such a positive light," Marshall said, chuckling. "But yeah, I agree. He's done well for himself. He even just looks better now."

Espio nodded. "I like to think that I had a hand in that."

Marshall smiled, then looked at the time. "Oh, man... we're almost done."

"Yeah, we are," said the purple chameleon. "Thanks for telling me all that you did. It was nice to see you again, properly."

"You too," said Marshall. "I'll try and make more appointments in the future. Thing is, since I know my power now, I could actually be a lot busier with classes."

"That's a fair point," said Espio. "Still, I'm glad that you've come so far. And try not to be a stranger, okay?"

Marshall stood and shook Espio's hand, nodding in agreement. "I'll try not to be."

He then turned to leave the therapist's room, heading back down the stairs and leaving through the door. He looked down at his phone and read over that same text that he received, worrying a lot about what Tails was going to say when he got home. But for now, he waited for a bus to head back to college. Said bus soon arrived, and he took it back to the college, checking the time again.

"Crap... it's almost time for class," he said. "I'd better hurry..."

* * *

 **And I'm back with this! Man, this is fun to write. And since it's going to end soon, I just hope that I can keep this up. I pray that you all enjoyed this, and I'll see you soon for more Love And War. Until then, take care, and stay tuned.**


	20. Red Rope

The rest of Marshall's classes had come and gone, and he was currently waiting around in his last one before the college day had ended. He tapped his pen against the table as he was writing down notes, almost doing it rhythmically as he tried to ignore Hyder sat next to him.

Hyder didn't really talk to Marshall a lot. Mostly because the two hadn't gotten to see a lot of each other over the past day, but also because Hyder didn't really actually want to talk to the tall fox, instead paying more attention to their teacher stood at the front.

"And that is how the particle passes through the atom," said the teacher. "Ooh, it looks like it's almost time to go home. But first, an announcement before you go."

"Wonder what this is about?" pondered Hyder.

"Nothing good, I'd wager," said The Director.

The teacher cleared his throat. "As you are all aware, three teachers who work at this college have gone missing. The police are looking into it, but they haven't found a lot in the way of evidence. If you or someone you know might be in danger from the X Killer, please, don't be afraid to tell the police, a member of faculty, or your family. Thank you."

"Looks like we need to be careful out there," Hyder said, standing up without looking at Marshall. "Never know what psychos lurk in the dark."

Marshall sighed to himself, picking up his things and following Hyder and the rest of the students out the door. He met Isaiah once again outside, and was taken to his dorm room. He was going to take a brief break before leaving to go to his parents' house when he saw a folder on his bed.

"Oh, no..." he sighed. "This... you can't be serious... not after what happened last night..."

"Oh, we are serious," said Isaiah. "That file there has your last target."

Marshall shook his head. "I'm not doing it. I already have enough suspicion on me at college, okay? If I kill another teacher here, then I'm done for. Not to mention, that would also implicate Isaiah as an accomplice, so I'm not exactly sure that you want me to do this job right now."

The Director chuckled. "Well, the thing is, this last one isn't a college teacher. In fact, she's not a teacher at all."

Marshall seemed curious, but picked up the folder. "This is the former prostitute, right?" he asked. "What exactly did she do besides fuck people for money?"

"She also fucked me out of some money," said The Director. "That whore cost me a lot and didn't bring back nearly as much as she should have. She didn't even give me a good reason as to why she held out on me."

"What does she do now if she's not at college?" asked Marshall.

The Director chuckled. "Open the folder and find out."

Marshall sighed, shaking his head as he opened up the folder. He didn't see a picture of who his victim was, but he did see the name where it should be, and he read through what she did to incense The Director, going through her acts briefly before closing the folder.

"A single name, huh?" asked Marshall. "Just Avi."

"Yes," said The Director. "She used that as her name when working her, ahem, job. I never knew her real name during our time working together."

"That's all well and good, but why isn't there a picture of her face here?" asked Marshall.

"Because all the other photos we had of her are gone," said Isaiah. "She's a smart one. After she left us, she took a lot more care of wiping out any past records that she had with us. That includes any type of photo, as well as no social media accounts. She's a ghost."

Marshall sighed. "Well, gee, that really helps in pinning down her location so that I can kill her. And besides, what would I use against her as some form of ironic twist? What, you want me to gouge out her eyes and skull-fuck her with a strap-on?"

"Nothing that brutal," said The Director.

"Well, you could have fooled me," said Marshall.

"In fact, we're going to give you the option of doing whatever you'd like," said The Director. "You could do what you did to the last three, you could to what you so graphically described, or you could make it short and simple. It is your last victim, after all. There's no need to to the extra mile after you already did it three times over."

"All right, then," the brown fox sighed. "Where can I find her?"

"We have an address," said Isaiah.

"What is-" Marshall was cut off, and saw that his father was calling. "Hey, dad... what's up?"

"Oh, just letting you know that you're not in trouble by the time that you get back home," said Tails.

"Really?" Marshall asked. "Because I was worried. You sounded deadly serious earlier when you sent me that text message."

"I know, and I just now realised how much it could have worried you," said Tails.

"So, Cream found out and asked you to rectify?"

"Yes, also that." Tails chuckled. "I just... I didn't want to worry you. Everything is fine over here, everyone's still alive... it's you that we're worried about."

"I mean, I'm okay," said Marshall. "I made both of my appointments today, and both went down pretty well."

"They both told me as such," Tails smiled. "Look, just... come back, okay? It is a serious talk, but you're not in trouble. We promise."

"Okay, I will," said Marshall. "I'll see you soon. And... I have something to talk to you guys about too."

"Ooh... what'll it be?" Tails asked.

"Eh, you guys explain your worries when I get home first, then I'll tell you my surprise," said Marshall. "I'll see you there. I'd better go catch the bus back quick."

"All right, we'll see you when we see you," said Tails. "We love you, son."

Marshall smiled. "I love you guys too."

They both then hung up on each other, and Marshall turned to Isaiah. "We're not doing this now. We'll talk more when I come back later."

"Just get your ass home," said Isaiah.

Marshall sighed, turning and leaving his room, soon exiting the college building to make his way over to the bus stop. He didn't need to wait all that long before it turned up, and he got on it, paying before walking up and down the bus, eventually finding a seat to sit on.

As he sat and waited to get back home, he pulled some earphones from his pocket, plugging them into his phone so that he could listen to music on the journey back. He even tapped on the seat in front of him in time to the rhythm of the drumming, smiling and humming to himself.

His joy was cut off, however, as the music suddenly became a lot louder in his head. He closed his eyes from the pain, pulling the earphones out of his ears, but it didn't stop any of the pain. He grunted and covered his ears with his hands, sitting still and opening his eyes to see that the bus appeared to have stopped dead in its tracks.

He was confused as to what was happening, then he looked down to see that his phone wasn't playing music any more, so he removed the earphones that were plugged in. He instead saw the faces of his victims so far, and scrolled past them, but the pattern kept repeating. He saw them all in the order in which he had killed them, and each had an X carved into their foreheads.

The brown fox was shaken from this and looked up with a start to see a human woman tugging his arm. "Is this your stop, sir?"

Marshall looked down at his phone, showing the name of the song that he was listening to, and looked around to see that it was daytime again. He gulped to himself and shook his head a bit before looking back up at the woman, standing up and looking outside to see a street that he recognised.

"Yeah..." he said to the woman. "Sorry about the holdup. It... wasn't intentional."

Without saying anything else, or even waiting for the others to move, he put his phone in his pocket and moved down to the front, thanking the driver halfheartedly before getting off of the bus, stepping foot back down onto the street.

He looked around and made his way through the streets, finding the one where his house was and clearing his throat. He knocked on the door and put on a smile as he waited. Eventually, his two-tailed foster father answered it with a smile of his own.

"Marshall!" he said, stepping to the side.

"Hi, dad," said Marshall, smiling. "So, what did you need to talk to me about?"

"Just getting right to the point, huh?" Tails chuckled. "Son... sit down..."

Marshall went to the living room to take his seat, and he saw Cream sat on the sofa. He went over to sit next to her, giving her a hug. "Hi there, Cream. Mum. Whichever it is that you prefer."

Cream giggled. "I'm fine either way... how was your day?"

"Well, it wasn't without its moments," said Marshall. "Let's just put it that way..."

Tails smiled, sitting on the seat across from them. "Would you like a drink while we talk? Might ease the tension a little bit?"

"No, I'd rather just get this all over with," said Marshall.

"Well, as I'm sure that Tails told you," Cream said, "you're not in trouble."

"Yeah, he did say that," said Marshall. "But if it's serious enough that we couldn't just talk this out over the phone, then something must be up."

"Well... look, you know that I don't like bringing my police work home with me," said Tails, "but... there's been disappearances over the past month. At your college."

"Would you look at that?" The Director said. "The local authorities do take notice after all! I'm almost touched!"

"You... you don't say..." said Marshall. "But I don't see exactly what this has to do with me."

"Well, allow me to elaborate," said another voice.

Marshall turned to see Honey walk out of the kitchen, holding up a cup of coffee. The brown fox sighed a bit. "I'm going to take a wild swing and guess that you're the bad cop and my dad's the good cop. Am I wrong?

"We're both trying to be good cop," said Honey. "I just really like the coffee your dad makes."

"It is good stuff," Cream nodded. "But let's focus on one thing at a time."

"Yeah," Honey agreed. "So, uh... these disappearances... there's reason to believe that they could be linked to the X Killer."

"You... you're not serious, right?" Marshall asked. "Are you trying to tell me that that sicko could be hiding near the college as we know it?"

"We don't have anything nearly that concrete just yet," said Tails, "but Honey noticed the link not too long ago. A lot of it traces back to your college."

"What do you mean by not having anything concrete?" asked Marshall.

"We have some evidence in the form of the X Killer's calling card," said Honey. "Something that was important to the victims in some way, found in an X shape in a bag."

"We've gotten two of those calling cards already," said Tails. "And, to our knowledge, at least two teachers have disappeared from your college."

"We feel like it might be linked to you," said Honey. "We're not going to pin the blame on you or anything, but we do need to start asking students questions."

"I haven't seen or heard anything," said Marshall. "I just thought that both of those teachers went on trips or were taking time off."

"Regardless," said Honey, "if you find out anything, or if you know anything, you'll tell us, right?"

"If I knew, I'd have told you already," Marshall nodded. "I promise, as soon as I get wind of anything, you guys will be the first to know."

Cream put her hand on Marshall's own and smiled at him. "We just want to know that you're okay. You understand that, right?"

"I do," said Marshall, smiling back. "I appreciate that."

"Well, if that's all that you have," said Honey, "we'll let you go back to college."

"Actually, that isn't all," said Tails. "If memory serves, Marshall here has a surprise all of his own. Isn't that right?"

"Oh, uh... yeah," said the tall brown fox. He cleared his throat. "I... uh... I discovered my ability..."

"Really?" Cream asked, hugging him. "Congratulations! I'm so proud of you!"

"That's my boy!" said Tails, also going over to hug his adopted son. "So, what is it? What can you do?"

"I can summon electricity," said Marshall. "I don't really know how to control it, but the lightning storm last night must have put me in a state of stress or something. I couldn't sleep, and it just... happened. I didn't break anything, but I almost gave myself a heart attack because of how sudden it was."

"Well, maybe you could try and summon it for us?" asked Tails.

"I'll... I'll try to..." Marshall said.

"I have an idea," said Honey, walking over. "My phone is low on charge. Let's see if you can fix that."

Marshall chuckled. "As long as I'm around, you'll never need a phone charger again." He closed his eyes. "All right... I can do this..."

The Director then chuckled in Marshall's head. "You'd need a strong dose of stress to reactivate that power from last night. That was such a huge burst, and all from the new information that you were receiving. And to think, it was all because of me and Isaiah!"

Marshall grunted, feeling the veins in his body start to crackle. "It's... it's coming..."

"After all, who could have thought it? The paedophile gym teacher, trying to keep himself contained at your college, and he flogged himself something fierce to the photos of young Cosmo..."

Marshall grunted more, louder this time. "It's... close..."

"Are you okay?" asked Cream. "You seem a little bit... tense..."

"It's... it's a stress thing..." Marshall said.

"And now, thanks to you, he's dead. And on the very night after you consummated your relationship with Cosmo. It must have felt good to take her cherry." The Director chuckled darkly. "To be honest, given Ellis' nature, I am surprised that you were the first to do that. And she's never going to know the lengths that you went to just to keep her safe..."

The brown fox then let out a small gasping scream as electricity charged through his body. It made contact with the phone that he was touching, but due to the buildup of pressure, it caused the phone to fly far back, slamming against the wall with a cracking sound before landing on the floor.

"Oh... crap..." said Marshall. "I'm sorry, Honey..."

"No worries," said the yellow cat. "I can just get a new one from the department."

"Wait, that was a police phone?" asked Marshall. "Double oh crap..."

"Hey, there's no need to worry," said Cream. "That was your first time trying to control your power. If anything, we're all just glad that you're safe. And the fact that you know your power is a nice little bonus."

Marshall smiled. "Thanks, mum. In fact, I've been meaning to ask, but... even though I have my power now... could I still go to that college? There's mechanics and engineering classes, and I want to focus on those. And now that I know what my power is, that'll make things a lot easier."

"Oh, absolutely!" said Cream. "That's no trouble at all! Is it, Tails?"

"Well... there is the matter of us having to pay more, plus the X Killer still being around..." Tails said.

Honey gently elbowed him in the side. "Nice to see that you have your priorities straight."

Cream giggled at that, then looked down at Marshall's hand. "Did... did you hurt yourself?"

"Hmm?" Marshall looked down at it. "Oh, that. Uh... yeah. I think that it's from a piece of glass or something that I forgot to pick up. Happened last night. It might be part of what made me activate my powers."

"Did your window get hit by the lightning?" asked Tails.

"It did," said The Director. "I have Isaiah waiting in there. If need be, I'll give him the word to set it up."

Marshall sighed and nodded. "It did, yeah. I ducked under my bed to stop myself from getting struck by it, but it did cause some damage. It wasn't a huge amount of glass, but when you fall on even a small bit of glass, that's enough to hurt you."

"Aw... well, the storms appear to be dying down after last night," said Tails. "Me and Honey have got to get back to work, and you've got to get back to college."

"I know," said Marshall. "More buses for me. I swear, most of my cash today has gone towards bus rides."

Cream smiled, standing up with him. "I'll drive you there. It'll be fine. Tails and Honey can drive back to the precinct."

"And while you're there, you could get Marshall going there full time now that he knows his power," said Tails.

"Great idea!"

Honey smiled. "Let's all get going."

The groups all got up and left, with Tails and Honey taking the yellow fox's car, and Marshall riding shotgun in Cream's car. Tails sighed a bit to himself as he and Honey went back to their base and headed up to their office, going over to the board they had on the wall.

"This isn't good," said Tails. "We just... we need a way to pin this on someone in the college. How do I know that that sick bastard didn't cut my son's hand open?"

"You don't," Honey said. "But... it doesn't make a lot of sense to me either. Nobody's reported any missing persons cases about it in a while, because the last people that we found were the X Killer's victims who lived in the apartment building. Why would he stay so quiet for so long?"

"That's the thing," Tails said, looking at the board. "He hasn't been quiet. He's been leaving his calling card in some sick ways. That means that at least two people have gone missing since the last few killings that we actually know about." He grabbed some of the red lines on the board to wrap them onto some pins, holding up some pictures. "These pictures here are of the two teachers that nobody's seen in a while at Marshall's college. We don't have any solid proof that they're dead, but people are worried."

"Isn't there any next of kin to reach out to for either of them?" Honey asked.

Tails shook his head. "No. There's nothing in any databases about them. Whoever the X Killer is, whatever it is that he wants, he's doing a damn good job of making sure that nobody else knows who his victims were."

"It's almost like he planned it ahead..." said Honey. "These teachers were still sort of new at the college, right?"

"Yeah, only a few months in. They didn't have those jobs long, so they were probably spending the time between getting better at their specialised subjects," Tails said. "If only we could connect with people from their pasts to help us..."

"Well, look, at the very least, we have evidence that the killer is still active. Those two bags are fresh. I... I really hope that we don't find a third one."

The two-tailed fox nodded. "Yeah. It would help is in the case, but at the same time, that's another person missing or dead." He then looked down as his phone got a text, and smiled. "Cream's on her way back home. She just got done signing Marshall up fully."

"Can she do that on her own?" asked Honey. "Since you and her are both adopted parents, doesn't that mean that the college would need you both to sign off on something?"

"No, I think it only needs one parent," said Tails. "We both usually go, as a rule. But he can manage with just my better half."

"And way nicer half," Honey smirked. "Come on. Let's get some coffee and do some paperwork."

"You mean me filing all of your stuff away, right?"

"Ah, he can be taught!" Honey chuckled.

Tails shook his head, then received another text on his phone, shaking his head. "We might need to put that on hold for a bit."

"I can see that," Honey said, looking at her own phone. "Let's get going."

* * *

 **I'm back at it again! Sorry for the wait. I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter. More action to come very soon from this, as well as Love And War, and a much delayed More Toys chapter, as well as maybe another one for Christmas. Until then, take care, and stay tuned.**


	21. Piece By Piece

Marshall sat in his dorm room, playing with a tennis ball. He was resting against the bottom end of his bed, idly throwing the ball back and forth against a wall. Luckily for him, the person on the other side of that wall was at another class, so there wasn't any noise complaints.

"This has been quite a big week for you," said The Director. "You know your power, now you're signed here full time and you can focus just on your electrical engineering course... you lost your virginity... you got your third kill... oh, what a week it's been!"

Marshall kept ignoring him, sighing and looking at his phone for any new messages.

The Director chuckled. "One more, and it'll all be over for you, you know. You killed the other three victims so poetically, and so justly for what they did. And you only have one last one."

Marshall threw the ball again, catching it and craning his neck a bit. "You know, I have a question."

"What is it?"

"If you wanted to get revenge on all of these people for doing you wrong, why not come out of wherever the hell that it is that you're hiding and do it yourself? Or why not hire Isaiah to do it? Why did it have to be me?"

"It seems that you can't count," said The Director. "That is three questions. To answer the first one... there are too many links to too many people who have done me wrong. Chances are that I'll bump into someone who will know what it is that I do, and they'll not only expose me, but possibly expose any of my other associates. To answer your second question, people know what Isaiah looks like. Even if I gave the X Killer mantle over to him, the people around the college would notice, and then it would lead to the same result as I mentioned earlier. And the third question... well, it's a chance for you to prove yourself."

"Prove myself? At what?" Marshall asked. "All I've done is kill people, and I feel no better for it."

"Yes, but look at what you've accomplished since you took on the mantle," said The Director. "You have a girlfriend. You lost your virginity. You discovered your power. You have a full-time college education. And, most importantly, you have gotten rid of three terrible people."

"You say that all of the time when I ask about what I'm doing. You always bring up the fact that I killed three bad people. I don't doubt that they were bad, but they haven't done anything to me," Marshall said, checking his phone again. "At least, not enough to warrant the things that I've done to them..."

"Well, you are helping me, at the end of the day," said The Director. "And the more that you help me, the safer that your family is."

"What is the end, anyway?" asked Marshall. "What happens after I kill this last victim? Do you just let me go back to my normal life and find a new X Killer? What happens if I fail and don't kill them?"

"Well... an answer to any of those would just spoil the fun. And, to be fair, you saw what happened to the last person who failed." The Director paused. "I doubt that you want to befall the same fate."

Marshall have one last throw and felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He smiled and opened the message up. "She's here."

"Well, you'd better go and greet her, then," said The Director.

Marshall stood up and went to the bathroom mirror, checking himself in it and sorting out the fur around his muzzle before leaving the room. He didn't want to seem too eager, but he couldn't contain his excitement as he went down the stairs to the front lounge of the college, being joined by Isaiah along the way.

"Is you being there too really necessary?" asked Marshall. "Don't you have other murderers to protect?"

Isaiah chuckled. "Not until you've given up the mantle, buddy. Now, let's go and say hi to your girlfriend."

Marshall shook his head and looked around the lounge, seeing Cosmo and her mother, Petunia, and he walked over to them. "Hey, guys!"

Petunia, who looked like an older, taller Cosmo, smiled and nodded her head. "Ah, Marshall! How have you been?"

"I've been great," said Marshall. "How about you guys?"

"Things are good," said Cosmo. "Just waiting here to get signed up so that I can be a full-time student here."

Marshall smiled. "I like that you're here mostly from your studies and not your power."

"Actually... we recently found it out," said Petunia.

"Oh?" The tall brown fox raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Cosmo giggled. "I'll show you in a more private circumstance. It shouldn't take long for us to get signed up anyway." She looked to Isaiah. "And who might this be?"

"Oh, this is Isaiah, a prefect who's sort of watching over me," said Marshall. "A little bit too much for my liking..." He added under his breath.

Isaiah chuckled. "Nice to meet you both. Marshall's told me a lot about you."

"Not anything too bad, I hope," said Cosmo, giggling. She then looked up to the front desk as she heard her name called up. "All right, here I go. See you in a few minutes."

"See you too," Marshall smiled. "Also, when you get back, I, uh... have something to show you too when I get the chance."

Cosmo smiled, pecking his cheek. "Looking forward to it..."

The green girl then went to the front desk with her mother, sitting at the chairs there as one of the faculty members who has just finished signing in another student came over to help them. As they worked on getting signed in, Marshall watched from afar, smiling to himself.

"Hard to believe that a girl that beautiful loves me..." said Marshall.

"I wonder how much she'd love you if she knew the skeletons that you had in your closet..." said The Director.

"I thought that you were going to stay out of my head," Marshall muttered.

"Now, I never said that," said The Director. "I just like to offer you a little bit of privacy when talking with those who you love."

Marshall wiped his eyes a bit. "Please... don't hurt her. No matter how much I screw up, I don't want her to be hurt because of it..."

"If you want her to be safe, then just keep listening to me and doing what I tell you to do," said The Director.

Marshall cleared his throat as Cosmo walked back over to him, and she smiled. "So... guess what?"

The tall fox seemed a bit confused, but smiled back at her. "What?"

"I managed to get a room with a certain someone who's very close to my heart..." said Cosmo, blushing.

Marshall chuckled and picked up Cosmo for a swinging hug. "That's great!" He set her back down onto the ground. "Wait... it is me right?"

Cosmo playfully slapped his arm with a piece of paper she held in her hand. "Of course it is, silly!" She paused a bit and sighed. "I love you..."

"I love you too..." Marshall smiled, then clenched his jaw a bit as he saw Petunia walking over. "Oh, uh... sorry for being so... uh..."

"It's fine," Petunia smiled. "I'm just glad that she's happy. So... I trust that you will take care of her?"

"Of course," Marshall nodded. "I mean... yes. I will."

"And I'll make sure that he stays in line," Isaiah chuckled, earning a small glare from the fox.

Petunia nodded in thanks to the prefect before bending down slightly to kiss Cosmo on the cheek. "Good luck. Not that you'll need it."

"Thank you... for all that you've helped me with. I'm going to miss not being around you all day at home," Cosmo admitted.

"I'm going to miss you too. After all, who will I play all those board games with now?" Petunia giggled.

"We'll set up a game night every now and then," Cosmo smirked. She then hugged her mother. "I'll be fine here..."

"I know..." Petunia sniffled a bit. "All right, I think that I had better go so that I don't cry all over the floor here... I'll see you on the weekend?"

"You can count on it," Cosmo smiled. "Take care."

"You too."

Marshall waved as well as Petunia left. "Bye! See you around!"

Petunia waved back and continued to walk, soon reaching the college door. She turned and gave one last wave to Cosmo before actually leaving said doors to go to her car. Cosmo listened out and couldn't help but shed a few tears of her own as she heard the car engine rev, before the car itself drove away.

"This will take some getting used to..." Cosmo said.

Marshall nodded. "It will. I guess that I don't have a lot to say on that front, though."

"Why not?"

"Well, I've been here for a long time as a practise student to learn my power," Marshall said. "Now that I am a full-timer, I guess that the transition was easy since I've been here for so long anyway."

"Do you think that you could help me to feel right at home too?" Cosmo asked. "Also... wait... you mentioned that you're here full-time now?"

"Yep," Marshall smiled. "I now know my power. Tapping into it is a little bit tricky, which is why I want to show it to you in private. That way, I don't cause a bunch of people here to get pissed at me when I accidentally overload their phones."

"I think that this all needs more explaining..." Cosmo said.

"Then explain I shall," Marshall smiled. "But for now, it's close to lunchtime. We've got some time to catch up on things. And since the college gives us permission to go out and about, I can take you to some great food vans."

"And do any of these food vans have vegetarian options?" asked Cosmo.

"Some do, but not all. There is an ice-cream van, though," Tails said. "Unless you don't partake in dairy either."

"Oh, god, no. I want to eat healthy, but I'm not crazy," Cosmo giggled. "Let's go get some ice-cream." She then looked over to Isaiah. "Are you going to be coming with us?"

"Usually, I would, but Marshall is with someone who he can trust," said Isaiah. "You two kids go it alone. Just make sure to be back here on time for classes."

"We will," the plant girl smiled. "Thank you!"

The prefect waved, smiling back, and Marshall shook his head. "I think that he likes you."

"Well, unfortunately for him, I only have eyes for one man," Cosmo said, holding Marshall's hand as they left the college building. "So... I know that you haven't been able to update me a whole lot due to you being so busy, but could I ask what this power is, exactly?"

Marshall nodded. "It's some type of electricity," he said. "In fact, I think that you're one of the last people that I'm able to tell in person. I told my parents already, Isaiah was there when I first activated my power, and my therapist and Father Zachary already know too."

"Wow. I feel so important," Cosmo said, rolling her eyes sarcastically before playing it off with a wink. "I'm just kidding, handsome."

Marshall chuckled. "I know..."

"So, how does it happen? Like, what first inspired it?" Cosmo asked.

Marshall lifted up his injured hand. "This did."

She touched his hand gently. "What happened?"

"Oh, uh... glass shard. My window exploded after that thunderstorm," Marshall said. "I got startled and cut myself by accident."

"I remember hearing about the storm," said Cosmo, lifting his hand to kiss it. "Better?"

Marshall smiled. "A little bit..." He cleared his throat. "So, how about that ice-cream?"

"That might be one of my favourite sentences that you've ever said," Cosmo giggled.

The two went back to holding hands normally, going into the town to get their ice-cream. As they were in town, Marshall showed Cosmo around to some parts that she wasn't as familiar with, even showing her some of the other food vans where he'd usually get his lunch from.

They found a spot to sit at with their food, and they had a good laugh with each other and caught up on other things that they didn't have time to catch up on before. Marshall left out the parts about the X Killer, mostly because he himself was tired of wanting to talk about it.

"I just can't believe that we're going to be in the same room, at the same college..." Cosmo sighed. "With our own powers too..."

Marshall smiled. "It really is quite the unique situation that we're in, isn't it?" He dove in to lick some of his ice-cream. "And I wouldn't change it for the world."

Cosmo looked at him and giggled. "You got something on your nose there..."

Marshall blushed a bit and used tried to use his tongue to get it, but he couldn't reach. Cosmo smiled and leaned over to wipe it off of his nose, before tasting it herself and sighing contentedly, leaning her head against his shoulder and stretching a bit.

"You tired?" Marshall asked.

"Had to get up early to get out here," Cosmo said. "Which is sort of a lie. My parents woke me up earlier than I would have liked, because we were expecting the college to be a lot farther away than it actually was."

Marshall chuckled. "If my memory serves, isn't your house technically closer to it? Or is it just closer to our high school?"

"It's closer to both," said Cosmo. "It's just that the high school is a lot closer than the college."

"Seems about right," said Marshall. He looked ahead to see a familiar face in one of the stores, buying a book. "Hyder?"

Cosmo looked too, and her eyes widened. "Wow. It's... weird to see him here..."

"Well, he is at the college now," said Marshall. "I guess that all of that therapy paid off for him."

"How long has he been going now?"

"About a couple of weeks," said Marshall. "I wonder what he's getting that book for."

"Might as well ask him when he gets out here. It looks like he's finishing paying for it."

Sure enough, Marshall looked up to see Hyder paying for the book, and the jackal worked his way past the crowd of people as he came out of the door. He put the book in his bag before sipping from a coffee cup that he had, and he almost stopped altogether as he saw Marshall and Cosmo sat on a bench next to each other.

"Oh... hey," he said.

"Hey," Marshall replied. "What brings you into town?"

Hyder chuckled lightly. "I'm on a sports scholarship, remember? I got a book studying injuries that could happen in basketball and such."

"Are you thinking of going to medicine?" asked Cosmo.

"It wouldn't hurt to, you know, help people," Hyder said. "I'm not the same as I used to be. Right, Marshall?"

The brown fox clenched his teeth a bit, but nodded. "Yeah. You've... changed. For the better."

Hyder nodded, then turned to Cosmo. "So, you finally made it here, huh?"

"Yep," the plant girl said. "I already had my power, so it was just my studies that I needed to work on, and work on them I did."

Hyder nodded again. "That's good." He checked his watch. "I'd better get going back. Classes are almost starting."

Marshall checked his watch too. "Crap... we should get going too."

"You guys have your classes at this time too?" asked Hyder.

"No, but there is a curfew to stick to," said Marshall. "If we stay gone for too long, we might get a lot of strikes on our report cards."

Cosmo chuckled. "Let's finish this ice-cream before it melts."

Hyder couldn't hide his smile at the cute couple, and the three soon made their way back to college. As they got to the building, Hyder split from the other two to go to his class while Marshall and Cosmo made it to their dorm room, with the former opening the door for the latter.

"Welcome to your room," said Marshall. "Which is also my room."

"How about we just call it our room?" Cosmo asked.

Marshall chuckled. "Good thinking. You take a look around, okay?"

Cosmo nodded, deciding to head to the bathroom first. As she did, Marshall sneakily checked around the usual areas where his weapons and costume were hidden, and was somewhat relieved to find that they weren't in any easy places to find. But that did also make him panic that Cosmo might be able to find them before he could.

"I can sense your worry," said The Director. "Isaiah hid your stuff in different places. Everything that you need is in a small compartment under the floor. The thunderstorm explosion made a good excuse for some extra damage, so he took the advantage and hid it all in a box there."

"Where?" asked Marshall, sitting on his bed.

"Pardon?" asked Cosmo from the bathroom.

"Uh... where are you in the bathroom?"

"Oh, I'm just looking in the medicine cabinet," said Cosmo. "You really need to stock up on toothpaste."

Marshall chuckled in relief as The Director began to speak again. "It's just in front of the window. The carpet covers it up really well, and Isaiah did his best to conceal it."

Cosmo then came back out, looking around inside the main room. "Man, you had a lot of damage here from that storm, huh?"

"Yeah," said Marshall. "The college did a pretty good job of trying to patch it up, though."

Cosmo smiled. "Well, before we decide to celebrate... I believe that you have something to show me..."

Marshall got up from his bed and nodded. "If I wind up hurting you by accident... I want you to know that it's not your fault. The power only works when I'm stressed..."

"I understand," Cosmo nodded. "It'll be fine. I promise. I can handle it."

Marshall smiled at her, closing his eyes. He didn't want to express his power too much, so he decided to focus on a smaller thought of Hyder's past bullying, during a much more minor incident. It did still prove to work, and Marshall felt his fur tingle as his power surged around him. He felt something in his hand, but didn't open his eyes.

"You... you're holding something..." Cosmo said.

Marshall opened his eyes and looked down at his hand, seeing a small electrical ball that he had formed. "Huh... wow... I didn't even think that I could do that..."

"Have you not made that before?"

"No..."

Marshall lifted the ball up to Cosmo's hand, and she touched it. Their hands touched and closed together against the ball, pushing against it from both sides before said ball let out a crackle of energy as it fizzled out, sending tingles all over both of their bodies.

"Wow..." Cosmo giggled. "That was... really good..."

Marshall smiled too. "I guess... I can do more than just charge people's phones with this power..."

Cosmo smiled, kissing his neck gently. "Come on. Let's just enjoy the time that we have left before going to class."

"We have different classes, you know," Marshall said. "We might not be able to see each other all of the time..."

"I know. I just don't care, as long as I get to see you."

The tall brown fox smiled widely at that, snuggling up with Cosmo as they laid in bed together.

* * *

 **With Tails and Honey...**

The two Mobians were pulling up to the scene where they'd been called up. To the surprise of neither of them, it was the two trees again. The two got out of their car and decided to head over to said scene, where they saw some civilians walking around said scene to avoid getting into trouble.

"Looks like we're expanding," said Tails. "So, what have we got this time?"

"Well, the X Killer made his call back to you sooner than normal," said a female cop on the scene. "We just found his newest bag of evidence. Here."

Tails took the bag from the lady cop, and looked inside it to see what appeared to be a small piece of camera film cut from the roll mixed with an eyeball. He grimaced a bit at the bag before putting it into his pocket. He shook his head as he looked around some more.

"We got anything else?"

"We had a blood trail that just led to nothing," said the cop. "Besides that, some spots on the trees and leaves. Nothing new."

Tails seemed thoughtful. "Could you swab some of the blood for me and put it into this bag? It might at least give us some clue as to who these victims are."

"Tails," Honey said as the cop left to do as she was asked, "if it didn't work before with that finger from the first bag, then why would this blood sampling work?"

"Well, maybe that was the problem. Maybe we needed some fresher blood, or something isolated from everything else."

"And you think that this is going to work?"

Tails shrugged as he was handed the sample, putting that into the bag too. "We don't know if we don't try. It might make a difference, or it might backfire. We don't know."

Honey sighed a bit. "I guess that you're right..."

Tails smirked. "I know that I'm right. Probably. Come on. Let's go an get this to Noam and see what he knows."

Honey nodded, and she and Tails got back into his car. The yellow fox started it back up, and the two were soon driving back to the station. They got there quickly, making a move to head towards the morgue, Tails carefully pocketing the bag of evidence.

"We didn't really spend much time over there, huh?"

Tails shrugged. "I guess that they already got all of their pictures. It was probably nothing for them to just let us go too."

Honey nodded, seeing Tails' point, and the two soon reached the morgue, going over to Noam. Without speaking to him, the two walked over, with Tails handing the bag of evidence straight over to him. Noam looked up at the two, his eyes blinking in confusion.

"Sorry," said Tails. "Too sudden a drop?"

"Sorry back," Noam replied. "Just been up all night trying to sort some of the paperwork out. Man... even when the dead stay dead, they don't make life any easier for me..."

"Well, we got something that you might like," said Honey.

Noam looked at the bag. "An eyeball and a piece of tape from what I believe to be a camera. Just what every boy wants."

"And what else is in there?" asked Tails.

Noam looked again. "A swab of blood, which I am hoping is fresh." He shook his head. "This might not work, you know. I see what you're trying to do."

Tails shook his head. "First Honey doubts me, and now you?"

"I said might not," said Noam. "I'm not completely ruling it out. I'm just trying to be a bit more rational about all of this."

"I'll be honest... I'm not sure if it'll work either," said Tails. "But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't give it a shot."

Noam nodded, taking the two main items out of the bag. He scanned the eyeball first, then the piece of camera tape, just in case. After those had gone through to the databases, he put on the blood sample, scanning that too. To his surprise, it didn't take as long to find them match for it.

"He have one?" asked Tails, looking at the blood.

Noam shook his head. "It could well be nothing." He finished typing things up, then looked around at the blood sample. "Sorry... no luck..."

Tails nodded. "Yeah... that about checks out..." He growled. "I... I need a drink..."

Noam waved to the yellow fox as he stormed away, visibly angry. Honey sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose before following Tails out of the room, catching up with him in the break room where he made himself a black coffee, but instead of drinking it, he threw it across the room angrily.

"How?" Tails asked. "How is this motherfucker this good? He doesn't just kill his victims, he literally makes them disappear too."

"Tails, you couldn't have known," said Honey.

"No, but I should have," said Tails. "I thought for sure that that was going to work. It was a fresh blood sample, we got here as quick as we could, and it still didn't work!" He grunted and poured himself another coffee, taking a sip and breathing. "We've exhausted every lead that we had, and we've been running around in circles. The only proof that the X Killer is still around is that new body parts keep being found."

"Then we'll let that be our lead," said Honey. "Maybe there's been someone planting the parts. We don't know that they're from recent victims. Tails, you've been so focused on just catching the Killer that you've not thought about the smaller stuff when it comes to the case."

Tails nodded. "Yeah... you're right." He shook his head. "We'll find a way around it. Ask some people, see what happens... it all depends on what happens. I shouldn't get so riled up about it."

The yellow cat nodded, then giggled. "Also, you're totally going to be cleaning up the mess that you made with your temper tantrum."

"Actions have consequences," Tails chuckled. "All right, I'll go clean up. We'll try and put more pieces together some other time."

"Well, you never know when he'll pop up next," Honey said, touching Tails' shoulder reassuringly. "It's not like you to get this angry. But I can see why you're so upset. We both have people to protect, you know."

"I know." Tails sighed. "Thank you."

Honey nodded. "You're welcome." She turned on her heel and let him be.

Tails sipped his coffee again, speaking under his breath. "We'll get him. I know it."

* * *

 **And another one of these is down! Man... we were going to be closing in on the final chapter really soon too. I hope that you've all enjoyed it so far, and that you're looking forward to seeing it all end as much as I am. Until the next chapter, take care, and stay tuned.**


	22. Judgement Call

"Do you ever think that this feels a bit cliche?" Marshall asked, laying next to Cosmo in their dorm.

"How do you mean, exactly?" asked Cosmo.

"Well, you know. Boy meets girl, boy goes to college, girl later joins him, they lose their virginity to each other, they both wind up in the same dorm room at the aforementioned college..." Marshall trailed off. "None of the seems weird to you?"

Cosmo giggled. "I like to think that that's the way that things are meant to be." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Now, you know that I love you, but you can't forget that you have classes to attend to today."

"You do too," Marshall replied, looking over at his alarm clock. "I suppose that we should get some breakfast before going. We've got the time to squeeze in a shower too."

"As in a shower together?" Cosmo asked.

"Well, it'd save on the college's water budget," Marshall winked lightly, his stomach grumbling. "Food first, though..."

"Agreed," Cosmo giggled.

The pair of them both moved to get out of bed, both slipping into some pyjamas for the time being as they went to the small dorm kitchen. It was big enough for both of them to have a seat, and as they did have enough time, Marshall decided to make some cheese on toast for them both, even whipping up some decaf coffee as well. The two ate and shared minimal conversation, but given how focused they were on making it to their lessons in time, this wasn't much of a surprise.

"All right," Marshall said as he finished his food, "time to go and get ourselves cleaned up."

"Do you have any deodorant sprays?" Cosmo asked. "For after the shower, I mean?"

"I do, but they're all guy stuff," said Marshall. "Did you not bring your own from home?"

"I forgot to pick them up," Cosmo replied. "I'll get them the next time that I go over there."

Marshall chuckled. "It might take a little while before you get settled in," he said, pecking her cheek before turning around. "Come on, let's shower."

Cosmo giggled, starting to take off her pyjamas. "Right behind you..."

The tall fox blushed a bit, but focused his attention on making sure that he got to the bathroom on his own as opposed to picking Cosmo up over his shoulder and dragging her there. He stepped out of his own clothes too before starting the shower, waiting until the water was warm enough before stepping in.

Cosmo joined him soon after, and the two shared some kisses and hugs in between the time of cleaning each other. There was one particularly sweet moment where Cosmo had her head rested on Marshall's chest, simply listening to his heartbeat and smiling softly to herself as the water ran over them both.

The two did enjoy this contact, and it was somewhat amplified by the fact that the shower was running, but they did eventually remember to keep the time in their minds. They finished cleaning up, got themselves dried, and sprayed themselves before putting on some new clothes for the day.

"So, what's on your schedule for today?" asked Cosmo.

"Got my first proper electrical engineering class," said Marshall. "Now that I know my power, I can properly focus on it. You?"

"Gardening class," said Cosmo. "That's my main focus, given my power."

"Well, hey, if I ever need some spare weed, I know who to go to," Marshall said. "It beats having some weird guy sell it to me in a back alley." He then caught Cosmo's slightly bemused look. "Which... has never happened to me before. I promise."

"Uh-huh. Sure." Cosmo smiled and stepped over to kiss him. "Let's get going."

The door knocked, and Isaiah spoke from behind it. "Are you two decent?"

Marshall shook his head. "Come in."

The prefect did so, smiling at Marshall. "Are you ready for your first class of the course that you were supposed to be taking in the first place?"

"I am indeed!" said Marshall.

Cosmo walked past Isaiah and smiled. "See you later!"

"You too!" Isaiah waved, stopping Marshall as he tried to pass after.

"What are you doing?" asked Marshall. "I've got to catch up with her. My class starts at the same time as hers does."

"Just wanted to make sure that you're not forgetting your mission for this weekend," said Isaiah. "It's in two days and you haven't gotten anything set up for it."

"Well, The Director said that I can freestyle this one, right?" asked Marshall.

"That I did," said The Director. "But that's in terms of how you kill. I didn't say that you could take as much time as you need while banging your roommate too."

"It'll get done," said Marshall, gritting his teeth.

"Prove it," said Isaiah.

"How?" asked Marshall. "Just find her and kill her now? I don't have an address, a face, or any actual useful information. All that I have is a name and the crimes that she committed. That's it."

A voice spoke not too far away from them. "Are you guys having trouble?"

Marshall turned his head past the door to see Hyder in the hall, along with a few other students walking out of their dorms to get to their own classes. "Oh, hey, man."

"Hey," Hyder replied. "Are things okay here? You guys good?"

"We're good," said Isaiah. "Right, Marshall?"

"Yep," said Marshall. "We're all good."

Isaiah nodded. "Good."

Hyder sighed heavily and wiped his brow. "I don't mean to keep you two from anything important that you might be doing, but we've got classes to get to. So, let's get to them already, yeah?"

Marshall was about to leave again, but was stopped by Isaiah. "What now?"

Isaiah leaned over to whisper. "The cafe in the middle of the town. 10:00 pm tonight."

The brown fox raised an eyebrow before nodding. "I won't be late."

Isaiah nodded back, letting Marshall follow the other students to their classes before the fox himself broke away from the group. He headed for wear his electronics class was, taking a deep breath before walking in. Some other students were already getting set up, and Marshall cleared his throat as he found a desk to go to.

The lesson itself passed by relatively quickly, and Marshall was surprised at feeling like it was over as quickly as it was. Most of the lesson was based on computers and how to fix certain issues in them, and he didn't feel like stressing himself out just to summon his powers, thereby making things easier on himself.

"Hmm... that's where that goes..." said Marshall, finishing fixing up a computer monitor.

"That's time!" the teacher called out. He walked around to check on everyone's work, and eventually reached Marshall. "Good work there. If you had a little bit more time, you could have even remade another one."

"Thanks," the fox smiled.

The Director then piped up in his head. "He's right, you know. That's a good looking monitor."

"Yeah, I did a decent job," Marshall sighed under his breath, packing his stuff up. "Then again, considering my line of work, it's difficult to not do a good job."

"Well, that's because you have such great direction."

Marshall chuckled a little bit, turning to leave his class when he heard a commotion outside. He opened the door and stepped out of the room to see several students all packed up into a line, and he found himself being pushed with the rest of them by someone who wasn't a student, but a police officer.

"What the hell is going on?" Marshall asked.

The officer sighed. "Are you a student of this college?"

"Yes, I am. Why?"

"Well, have you heard of the X Killer?"

Marshall gulped. "I'm familiar with his work, yes."

"Well, unfortunately, another one of his possible victims turned up. Or rather, something possibly associated to the victim. We're tightening up the security on the college."

"It figures..." said Marshall. "Where's my dad?"

"What?"

"My dad. Tails. Where is he?"

"Uh, look, kid, it's not wise that you-"

Marshall pushed past the cop, ignoring him and walking up through the line of students. It took some pushing past them, and he eventually saw his father at the end of the line, using a metal detector on some students before nodding and letting them pass through.

"Dad?" Marshall said. "What is all of this?"

"Marshall, there you are," Tails said. "Sorry that I didn't get the chance to tell you about this. I was pretty busy."

"Well, I'm sorry about that, but you still haven't told me exactly what is happening here."

Tails sighed, checking another student before letting them through. "We recently came across more body parts, and we're tightening up security for the college, especially after a student reported something suspicious."

"Who was it?" Marshall asked.

"It was Hyder. I must admit, I never expected him to come to the authorities about anything."

"Where is he?"

"Oh, he's passed through already," Tails said. "I think he's down at the cafeteria since it's lunchtime. Either that or he's out getting food in town."

Marshall shook his head. "Dammit..." he muttered.

He pushed past the rest of the line, foregoing the metal detector entirely, knowing that his foster father would let him pass through regardless, if mostly because Marshall knew the real reason why Tails got all of this set up: He was worried about him. Marshall soon made it downstairs to the cafeteria, and saw Hyder sat down and eating lunch, rushing over to him.

"I found you," Marshall said, sitting across from him.

Hyder looked at Marshall. "I take it that you're mad about me calling the police over. They found a dead body. What was I supposed to do?"

"Do you realise how dumb this idea is?" Marshall asked. "You know that me and Cosmo are sharing a room now. If they find anything in there that could implicate the X Killer, my dad is going to do everything in his power to protect me. And protect Cosmo."

"That just leaves Isaiah," Hyder said. "He works for The Director anyway. If all else fails, he'll either commit suicide willingly or because he was told to, and everything about him will be wiped from any databases that could catch up to him."

"Or maybe," said a voice behind Hyder, "I'll kill somebody else before I kill myself..."

The jackal grimaced a bit, finishing a bite of his ham sandwich. "Do it. Right in front of all of these people. I'm not afraid to bring down a storm on you two."

Isaiah then leaned in close from behind Hyder. "You don't have any fucking power," he said. "You're just a punk-ass bully. You have no right to judge Marshall on his actions considering the pain that you put him through in the past." He then paused. "If this screws over Marshall, me, or The Director in any way, shape, or form, then I'll have to bury two bodies over the weekend instead of one."

"I don't have power?" Hyder chuckled. "One call to the police, Marshall, and your dad brought his entire squad here to make sure that the students are all clean. They're all probably going through all of the dorm rooms as we speak."

"That's not your power," said Marshall. "That's my dad's power, doing all that he can to make sure that I'm safe. Sure, this could screw me up, get me caught as the X Killer, and that would be that. And here's the thing, Hyder, you're lucky that my dad is an honest cop. A good cop. If I were a cop, and you were trying to screw over someone that I cared about, I wouldn't rest until you were put behind bars or put down six feet under."

"I'd like to see you try," Hyder said. "I don't care what you think is right, Marshall. All of this is wrong. The sooner that you get rid of your last victim, the easier it'll be for me to sleep." He shook his head. "I went through all of that therapy to get myself better, and I bump into you again to make amends, only to find out that you've gotten worse... the only thing that changed is that you got your power now. Congratulations for that."

Hyder then huffed out some air, getting up from his seat and turning to leave, taking his lunch with him. As he stormed off, Cosmo was then walking over to Marshall, with Isaiah leaving the two lovers well enough alone too as he took off back up the stairs.

"What happened?" asked Cosmo. "I saw you and Hyder talking, and it didn't exactly seem like the friendliest of conversations."

"Just some old bad blood that hasn't really gone away yet," said Marshall. "Anyway, what brings you down here?"

"Well, it's lunchtime, first of all, and I got hungry," said Cosmo. "I also saw all of the cops in the building, and I was with one of them as they checked around the dorms. They didn't find anything in ours, or in any dorm, which is good."

"Why is that good?" Marshall asked.

"Well, that completely rules out any students of being the X Killer," Cosmo said. "But it could mean that an outside force is the one doing the killings..."

"Look at you, doing your own detective work," Marshall chuckled.

"It's one of my many talents," Cosmo giggled. "Speaking of which, how was your class today?"

"It sort of felt like a breeze given what my power is, but I didn't actually use said power all that much," said Marshall. "We had to fix computers, issues in said computers, monitors, pretty much from scratch. It was like the teacher added a lot of viruses on purpose or something."

"Well, too much pornography can damage the brain," said The Director.

"Maybe he just wanted to really test you on your first class?" Cosmo suggested. "More often than not, the best way to take any lesson is to dive in the deep end with both feet forward."

"When you're right, you're right," Marshall chuckled.

"And I'm always right," the plant girl winked. "Come on. Let's get something to eat."

"In here or do you want to go out?"

Cosmo checked her watch. "There is one place that we haven't hit up in a while. We can grab a small pizza to share from there."

Marshall held Cosmo's hand. "You're the best girlfriend that I've ever had."

Cosmo giggled. "I'm the only girlfriend that you've ever had."

"And if we were to ever break up, then you'd be one tough act to follow," Marshall smiled, getting up from his seat. "Come on. Let's go get the pizza while there's still time."

"Wait, isn't Isaiah supposed to be with you?"

"I'll call him on the way over there. It'll be okay," said Marshall.

Cosmo giggled, nodding and laughing as her brown fox boyfriend took her hand. The two made a rush for the front door, ignoring cries of running down the halls. They did need to get stopped for a metal detection check, but they were soon out the door after the fact and on their way to the bus stop. Soon, a bus stops for them, and they hop on, finding seats next to each other.

Marshall sent a quick text to Isaiah. "There. Now he knows."

Cosmo giggled again. "It feels like it's been so long since we last did this. With you going to college and being busy working there, me focusing on my schoolwork... it was all such a pain to get done, you know?"

"I know," said Marshall. "How do you think I felt? Not only was I mostly alone at college, save for some friendly visits, but I didn't get to share a single slice of the best pizza in town with the girl of my dreams."

"Well, you might call pepperoni the best in town, but you know I like my veggies and such," Cosmo giggled.

"At least you're okay with having it as a half-and-half pizza," said Marshall. "I can't stand those weirdos that won't have the half-and-half if it's in the same vicinity because they feel like it'll mess too much with each other."

"Oh, yeah, you don't have to worry about that with me," said Cosmo.

Marshall's phone then started to ring, so he checked it, smiled, and answered it. "Hey, dad."

"Marshall! Hi," said Tails. "I didn't think that you were going to pick up, since you were in such a hurry to not talk to me earlier."

"I'm sorry," said Marshall. "I really am. I know that you only took the call because you were worried about me."

"That is true," Tails nodded. "So, why did you run off so fast? To thank Hyder?"

"Not exactly..." said Marshall. "I sort of had a hatchet to bury with him still. Let's just leave it at that."

"He's still alive, right?" Tails asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah, he is," Marshall nodded.

"So... what are you up to?"

"Oh, I'm on the bus with Cosmo on the way into town. We're going to that pizza place to get some lunch." Marshall smiled. "Want me to save you a slice of pepperoni?"

"Ooh... that sounds lovely." Tails sighed. "All right, we're almost done over here. Just a few more things to check, but considering how low our success rate has been so far, it seems pretty pointless... I'll see you when I see you."

"See you later."

The phone call then ended, and Marshall smiled over at Cosmo. The two shared further discussion over how their main lessons had gone, and what their plans were for the rest of the day, which mostly consisted of hanging around with each other as much as they could.

Soon, they finished up their pizza, and made their way back to the college via bus once more. As Cosmo rested his head on Marshall's shoulder on the bus ride back, all that he could think of was how lucky he was to have her in his life, despite what he was going to do later that night.

The two had made it back to the college proper, going upstairs to their room to enjoy some piece and quiet together, while also managing to squeeze in some video game sessions in between as well as actually going to other lessons to fill out the rest of their day.

Nighttime was approaching, and it was almost 9:00 pm. The two decided to try and get an early night, and they were all curled up in bed together, with Marshall staying awake but breathing softly to help soothe Cosmo to sleep. The fox himself stayed awake, however, and soon, his phone vibrated. He checked the text and carefully extricated himself from Cosmo, kissing her cheek softly before leaving the dorm room, seeing Isaiah waiting for him.

"Are you ready?" asked Isaiah.

Marshall nodded. "No. But let's do this."

Isaiah nodded back, taking Marshall with him down the stairs and out of the college doors. Since the police security had gone, it was no hassle at all to make their way out. The two headed into town on foot, and since the cafe that they needed to visit was in the middle, they didn't have too far to go.

"What am I even doing here?" Marshall asked.

"You're going to go straight for the bathroom here," said The Director. "So, do that."

The fox nodded, and even held his stomach and made some pained grunting sounds as he headed for said bathroom. Isaiah sympathetically patted Marshall on his back too, mostly in an effort to try and play along with the bit of it as the tall brown fox finally reached the bathroom. They brushed past another man just leaving, and Marshall went to the cubicle and sat down.

"Here," said Isaiah, sliding a phone under the cubicle.

Marshall picked it up, seeing a number already dialled in to call up. Understanding what was happening, Marshall pressed the button, waiting for whoever was on the other end to pick it up. After a few tones, the phone was answered, with a sultry female tone speaking.

"Hehe... who might today's stud be?"

"Hi. My name is Marshall," said the fox, adding a bit of flavour to his voice.

"So, Marshall... what do you like from a woman in my profession?"

Marshall gulped away from the phone, clearing his throat. "How much for a private meeting?"

"Hmm... that's $50..."

Isaiah then slipped a wallet full of money under the door, and Marshall picked that up before speaking more confidently. "And how much for a girlfriend experience?"

"Well, normally, that's $200. But because you're new, and because you have such a sexy voice... I'll knock off 25% just for you..."

"How generous of her," The Director said with snark.

"Well, that's awfully kind of you," said Marshall.

"When do you want to do this?" asked the female voice.

"Oh, uh... this weekend. Saturday. 11:00 pm."

"Sounds good. I'll have a slot open by then, in more ways than one..." She then gave him the address, letting out a little moan too. "I hope to see you soon. You take care, Marshall..." She then hung up.

Marshall did the same, exiting the cubicle before handing Isaiah the phone back. He made it a quick point to wash his hands before leaving, and he and Isaiah moved quickly back out of the cafe before heading back to the college, making it outside Marshall's dorm before Isaiah stopped the fox.

"I'm going to keep a hold of this money until you need it, okay?" Isaiah said.

"Y-Yeah..." Marshall gulped. "So... this is it, huh?"

"This is it," said Isaiah. "Last stop, and you're done."

"Good. Good. Uh... I'm... I'm going to sleep on it," the fox said.

Before Isaiah could get any other words out, Marshall had already turned around to leave, going to his bed and changing into some pyjamas before rejoining his girlfriend under the sheets. She let out a small whine in her sleep, and when her arms found Marshall, she hugged him close, snuggling against him as he did against her, kissing her cheek.

"Cosmo..." he whispered in her ear. "God... please, forgive me..."

* * *

 **And another one is all done and dusted! I hope you guys all liked it** **. We are so close to the end for both this and Love And War. Honestly, I can't wait for them both to be done, and I hope that you guys will enjoy whatever comes next. I'll see you guys in the next one. Until then, take care, and stay tuned.**


	23. Keepsake

"Are you ready?" The Director asked.

Marshall sighed. "About as ready as I'll ever be." He shook his head. "I just have to write it all down, yeah?"

"Yes, all of it. Word for word, just like we practised. If you need help, I can always read it out for you."

"No, it... it's okay," said Marshall. "I'll improvise a little bit."

Marshall sighed, taking a moment to mentally prepare himself before opening up his computer. He clicked on a writing program, opening up a folder that he hadn't been back to in a while, and opening up a new file to add into it, starting to type.

"Keepsake number... I don't remember. It's been so long since I've done one of these. Let's just call it my last one for now. So, to whoever finds and reads this, you might be wondering what I've been up to in the time between.

Well, allow me to enlighten you.

It all more or less started on one of my last days of secondary school. I had done enough hard work and passed enough tests to move on to a college of my choosing. The trouble is, being Mobian, you need to learn your power as well. Since I didn't know mine, the college was kind enough to let me enrol there anyway, taking whatever classes I so chose, while hoping to learn what my own power was along the way as, like I said, I still didn't know.

So, I went to college, taking up whatever classes I felt like. After the first week was over, my parents kept paying for me to go for extra weeks until I learned what my power was. It took me a while, but I eventually learned it. I'll get to that in a little while, though.

One thing that I didn't mention is that... well, you've probably heard of this X Killer fellow that's been going around. He's been pretty difficult to avoid. The thing is, he isn't just one person. He's more like a mantle, and the last person to be the Killer messed something up, so I got saddled with the mantle after the fact.

Coupled with that mantle are a fair few caveats, however.

The first of these is a voice named The Director. He's the mastermind behind who the X Killer's victims are. The Killer is just the man with the gun, but he doesn't pull the trigger unless The Director says so. The Director is as much at fault at the Killer is.

The second of these is that whoever takes up the mantle must do everything that is asked of them by The Director. The Director has marks all through the city, he has access to every security camera that he needs, and he knows who your family and friends are, where they live, where they work, and so on.

Lastly is the chip that is implanted into one's brain. Now, this chip is sort of like a leash that The Director can yank on if his preferred performer doesn't do as they're told, keeps arguing back, or doesn't go along with the plan as he'd hoped. It administers a painful electrical shock that, in my experience, causes massive headaches and forced vomiting.

You may have noticed that I used the word "performer" in that previous paragraph. That is what The Director sees it as. He sees it all as an act, a game. A game that he takes very seriously. He gives you the tools and your options when it comes to killing, and you may improvise however you wish, but ultimately, he likes the victims to get a taste of their own poisons.

When it comes to the victims that I've been tasked with killing, those poisons are rather... tasteless, ironically. For each X Killer, there's been different victims that did The Director wrong in a former life, and the victims that I had to kill were no exception.

The first of those three was an assistant teacher at the college that I go to. A man named Harrison Marks. When I watched him work as a student, he was cordial, personable, and polite when it came to his students.

But then again, we all put on those masks, don't we?

In reality, Marks used to work for The Director, and Marks had an issue with animal abuse. In that, he enjoyed doing it. Far too much. He was the first victim that I was given, and the first one that I've killed.

With the help of a man named Isaiah, posing as a prefect at the college, I was able to isolate Marks in the old shed outside of the college parameters. I tied that man down, and I asked him some questions. Those questions led to him pointing out that everyone who worked for The Director, himself included, was allowed to feel too powerful, which is what led Marks down his path.

After I was done questioning Marks, a pair of Rottweiler dogs came in at my command and mutilated him. They started eating his finger, then his hands, and eventually, they worked their way through eating the rest of him, leaving him a mangled corpse.

I wasn't happy or proud of my actions. Hell, to this day, I'm still not. I had to watch someone who was a bad man get murdered by the thing that he took his own frustrations out on. I had to watch someone who had at least attempted to turn things around get killed.

But then I felt a strange sense of... well, not purpose, but relief that such a vile human being was gone. Hearing about how bad he was, hearing him admit it, only to be killed by the very thing that he abused... it wasn't justice, but it was the type of death that someone like him deserved.

That night, Harrison Marks was my first victim. The first person that I ever killed, X Killer mantle or not. I'd like to tell you that it got easier, but as you're about to read for yourself, it really didn't.

After Marks was killed, he was wiped clean from what few databases he was still attached to. Smart, I think. Safer to go with a person missing rather than dead. They cremated him to get rid of the physical side, and they wiped him clean to handle that side too, giving the police less to go off of.

Not even a full day after killing Marks, I was given my next victim, named Lola Rivera. Lola was an addict to every kind of drug that you could think of, as well as some that you don't want to know exist. She did a lot of desperate things to get her fixes, and it was those things that made her another target in The Director's lens.

Later that day, after getting the information about her, I happened to be in one of her classes where she taught Spanish. As I speak the language myself, it was easy for me to connect with her. Another thing that helped is that, as she is a drug addict, I smoke marijuana from time to time. I should have probably smoked more on the night that I killed her. I might have felt easier about it that way.

I told her to meet me over the weekend where she could hopefully help me to learn my powers, and once again, the trap had been laid out for her. Luckily for me, since my parents were so willing to continue paying for my weeks at college so that I could learn, it was quite easy to get away with.

Lola fell right for the trap the moment that I stepped into her office. She broke out some weed, and we smoked. She even got some old scotch out, and I have to admit, it tasted a lot better than I was expecting. But I'm getting sidetracked now.

After we smoked and had some drinks, I managed to slip a sleeping pill into her glass without her seeing. She drank it up, passed out, and Isaiah took her to the shed. Just like with Harrison Marks, I was tasked with killing Lola Rivera, but again, not without making her realise the consequences of her actions.

I forced drugs into her system. I made her snort cocaine. I jammed heroin needles into her. I made her drink alcohol, smoke crack, swallow pills... anything that she was addicted to, she took it. All of it.

And that wasn't even the worst of the torture. I cut her open in several places to make sure that she couldn't even move. I made her choke so hard on the drugs that she vomited, spitting out blood too, creating a foul smell as I kept torturing her.

But the strangest thing is, in death, she appeared to feel release. Maybe it was because she was high, all the needles in her arm, all the alcohol in her liver... I couldn't tell you. She even said that she didn't mind dying as long as she got to enjoy it a little bit.

I think it is worth pointing out that The Director did still make me do those things at the time. I had no free will in it, nor did I have a choice. It made Lola's murder feel worse to me too. Such a pitiable woman, who tried at least a little bit to stop her vices from getting the better of her.

And I literally made her choke to death on them.

A couple of days after Rivera's murder came my third assignment, a man named Ellis Redford. Of the three victims, he was arguably the kindest and most honest. He was also the one most likely to help me to discover my powers, as he worked as a gym trainer in the college. He taught two classes for students there too. One helped students who already knew their powers to control them, and the other helped students who didn't know what their power was yet.

Obviously, since I fit into the latter category, that was what allowed me to talk to Ellis and connect with him. Unlike my previous two victims, and to break an ever-growing pattern of suspicion, we held a one-on-one training class in his gym.

I realise that I didn't explain what Ellis' crime was. Well, the easiest thing for me to do is just call him a paedophile and move on. But he was much worse than that. Child pornography charges, having sex with an infant's corpse that he beat... it didn't take a lot of convincing for me to want to kill a monster like him.

I did have the chance to train with him during the day. Watching him work and try to motivate others... he was almost a saint to the kids. He worked with a Mobian named Carver who had trouble controlling his powers, and it was like watching a weight get lifted from the kids' shoulders. He seemed so much better after the fact.

I did train a little bit at the gym during the day, but I didn't learn my powers at that point. But Ellis did still help me. He was teaching that Carver kid again, and asking him how he got his powers. Carver said that he had a nice dream about himself with his girlfriend, and Ellis said that powers can come from an emotional well.

I would wind up learning that for myself in a more literal manner later that night.

I managed to get a normal workout in, and after I was done, I got Ellis to agree to meeting me at the gym over the weekend. He agreed, and The Director, Isaiah, and I made the preparations and such for our meeting on the weekend with Ellis.

The night went about the same as all the other murders... at first, at least. I found out some information which I'm not at liberty to tell, and it was this information about Ellis that further pushed me over the edge, and I discovered my power of electricity.

With the combination of this, along with the stress and such, using a weapon to kill Ellis was no longer necessary. I put my hands on his head and sent electricity coursing through him until his eyes exploded. The rest of his face soon followed suit, the skin melting into a gory puddle.

During this night, it was quite stormy, so the power outage from my angry burst was just attributed to that. But it was after the initial murder where things changed, as a jackal named Hyder. It'd been a while since I last saw him, as he was getting help to better himself and was learning in high school so that he could go to a good college. Unfortunately, on that night, that happened to be the college where I was.

Fate has it in for me, it seems.

The next day, I had to tell him the truth, since he knew. He didn't believe me at first, and to be honest, I couldn't blame him. But it's the fact that he went back to resenting me again. Once again, I couldn't blame him for how he felt.

And now, after all of this, I have one final target to kill. And then... I don't know exactly what's going to happen after tonight. But to whoever is reading this, know that I am sorry for my actions. I only did what I did to protect the people who I love.

May God have mercy on my soul.

My name is Marshall. I'm the X Killer. And this is my last keepsake."

He then saved the folder, sighing to himself. "There."

"All written down to the letter," said The Director. "It's getting late. You have an appointment to keep."

Marshall sighed, looking down at his costume. He turned to see Cosmo sleeping next to him in bed, and he leaned over to kiss her cheek gently before shutting his laptop off, making sure to close down anything before doing so. He finished putting on the rest of the X Killer garb, nodding to himself.

"It's time to end this..."

* * *

 **And that's another chapter! I know that this is a shorter one, and it is filler, but I enjoyed doing something like this. A couple more chapters left in the story... ooh, boy! I hope you all have a Happy Halloween! I'll see you in the next one. Take care, and stay tuned.**


	24. The Oldest Profession

It was late at night, about half an hour after Marshall had finished typing his final keepsake and saying his goodbyes to Cosmo. The brown fox in question expected that he'd be more fidgety and anxious, but he was trying to keep a calm facade about it.

"So... are you still nervous?" asked Isaiah, driving the car.

"I'm about to go and kill somebody. Something that I've already done three times this year." Marshall shook his head. "It's not easy, man. Having to do this kind of stuff... all to save the people closest to me."

"After tonight, it's all over," the Director pointed out. "Just try to keep that in mind."

"You say that all the time," Marshall shook his head. "It's all over after this... what do I do after this is over?"

"Well, you do what you were doing before we met," said The Director. "You go back to living your normal, boring life."

"Normal?" Marshall scoffed. "I'm not going to be normal ever again after all of this. I'm way beyond normal right now..."

"You need to calm down," said Isaiah. "We're almost there now. You need to focus up."

"I really can't wait to be gone away from you two," said Marshall. "The sooner, the better."

Isaiah shook his head. "Do you even know what you're going to do after this?"

"It's not going back to my normal life, I'll tell you that much," said Marshall. "There is no more normal for me." He then looked up and ahead. "Is this the place?"

"This is the place," said Isaiah. "Just go ahead. We'll be waiting outside in the car."

"Please, try to make this quick," said The Director. "She wasn't an easy one to find. Just make sure that it's over fast."

Marshall sighed and shuddered, and the car stopped just outside of the house. He looked outside and saw that the house still had a light on upstairs, even at this late time of night. The tall fox left out of the car, carefully sneaking his way to the back of the house.

He approached the back door and saw that it was slightly cracked open, so he opened it just wide enough for him to get into the house. He silently closed the door behind him and kept moving into the house, using the night vision built into his mask to find his way upstairs.

The brown fox looked for the source of the upstairs light from earlier, and he saw a thin line of orange light against a wall on the upstairs hall. He followed the source of the light back, seeing a door slightly cracked open, then a shadow briefly passing by the light, blacking it out completely for an instant.

"Okay... you've got this..." Marshall whispered.

He crept closer to the door, managing to stay close to the wall so that he wouldn't get seen. He pressed his ear close to the wall as he kept moving, hearing some singsong humming that he actually found strangely soothing. He peeked carefully through the crack in the door to see his final target facing away from him, brushing her hair and adjusting the straps on her nightdress.

'This is the last one...' Marshall told himself in his head. 'Let's end this...'

"Are you going to keep sneaking around out there?" asked a voice. "Or are you going to come in here and finish the job?"

Marshall chuckled lightly, trying to make it sound darker. "I guess that there's no use in hiding..."

"There really isn't," said the woman, still not turning around. "So, are you going to come in and end it? Or do you need that little voice in your head to tell you what to do?"

Marshall shook his head, entering into the room. "I don't need that son of a bitch in my head to tell me what to do."

"That must make a change from before," said the woman. "But ask for help if you need it."

Marshall smiled, and waited for The Director to start helping him with some menacing lines. But... nothing was coming through. Marshall kept waiting, but he remained still, and his head remained silent. The brown fox shook his head, confused.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Darling... do yourself a favour and take your mask off, please..."

Marshall did just that. "What's happening? Who are you?"

"My name is Nora," said the woman. "And... well, the moment that I turn around, you may just recognise who I am." She sighed. "So, if it's all the same to you, I'd like to talk with you."

"You answered my second question, but not my first," said Marshall. "What is happening?"

Nora turned around, revealing herself in full. With her facial features, the light spots on her face, she was a Mobian. She appeared to be a hyena, and her grey hair framed her face rather prettily. She had recently taken off her makeup, presumably because she was going to sleep soon, but Marshall still seemed unsure.

"What's happening," said Nora, "is this room is sealed off from The Director's signal. We don't have a lot of time here, but this is the only place where he can't reach us."

"Is this why he wasn't able to find you for so long?"

"Indeed it was, and still is," said Nora. "I managed to stay here for so long without him finding me. Of course, with all of the people he has around, all it takes is one of his hidden assassins to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and suddenly, people know where I am."

"I'm sorry..." Marshall said.

"Sorry? You know, that's not something that a murderer usually says," Nora said. "But I should apologise myself. You may have noticed what species it is that I am, and what animal I am. I'm going to save you a lot of trouble now because... I am Hyder's mother. And, if you'll give me the time, I'd like to tell you everything that happened between me and The Director."

Marshall sighed and almost fainted, sagging against the wall before Nora rushed over and caught him. He looked up at her and nodded. "Thank you. Uh... please, let's... let's do that. I may as well give you that much."

* * *

 **An hour ago, at the police station...**

Tails looked at the board in front of him. "That's it. There's no more links that I can make to the case."

Honey, behind him, looked up at the board. "You know, you really got far with it. It isn't your fault that it didn't link."

"I guess that the killer just kept staying a step ahead," Tails sighed.

"I can't think of a lot of places that we haven't checked." Honey shook her head. "It's getting late. We should both head home."

Tails stood still. "Actually... there is one thing that we didn't do."

"What is it?"

"We didn't check the college hard enough," Tails said. "Well, rather, there was one room that I didn't check because I chose to take up the security role there."

"You're not saying what I think you're saying, are you?" Honey asked.

The yellow fox nodded. "We need to give Marshall's room one last look. The detective that we had look for stuff probably didn't look hard enough."

"And you think that you can do better?" Honey asked.

"I can," Tails said. "And I wouldn't even need a search warrant to do it, you know. I'm still his legal guardian."

"He's your son," said Honey. "You can't possibly think that he's a suspect."

Tails sighed. "As far as I'm concerned, everyone is a suspect in that college. But, out of all of them, he's the only one that still makes any sense."

"You say that like you're sure..."

Tails shook his head. "I don't know if I am sure. But I feel like this is the only shot that we have now."

Honey sighed. "You really think that it's worth it?"

Tails nodded. "I really do."

The yellow cat shook her head. "Well... if you think that it's worth a shot, we'll try it." She sighed again. "Should we get going?"

"Yeah, let's get moving. The clock's ticking."

The two got up and were preparing to take their leave when another officer walked in. "Where are you two going?" he asked.

"Oh, Banner, hey," Tails said. "We're just going back to the college. Seeing if there's anything that we missed."

"Well, you might not have to worry about that," said Banner. "Noam has some new information that you're going to want to check out."

Tails and Honey looked at Banner with confusion, but the two went downstairs to see what was happening, with Banner following behind. They found their way over to Noam, who was standing up and looking over his computer screens, pacing back and forth. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the two officers.

"Oh, hey, you're here," Noam said.

"What's going on?" Tails asked.

"Some information finally came out about the recent victims!" Noam said, barely containing his excitement.

"Wait... seriously?" Tails asked. "It's been months since the new ones propped up. We barely even had any information on the ones before them."

"That may be true, but check out the screen," said Noam.

Tails did so, and saw the face of an older looking gentleman. "Harrison Marks... he was the first victim. Cause of death... eaten alive by dogs..."

Honey grimaced. "I fail to see how you're getting so excited about this, Noam."

Tails kept reading. "Harrison Marks was a teacher at Marshall's college... people who knew him said that he was a nice person. But, apparently, he was an animal abuser..."

"Oh, wow," said Honey. "So... did he deserve it?"

"I really hope so." Tails gulped and carried on. "His last interaction was with... a tall, brown fox."

Honey's eyes widened, and Noam shook his head. "I swear, that information wasn't there before. Must have just been recently deciphered from the DNA."

Tails turned around. "Is there anything else left of Marks?"

"Aside from the samples that we got?" Noam asked. "No. That was it. There's no traces of his body, but the parts that we got definitely belonged to him."

Tails was about to speak, but Banner spoke up instead. "Wait, another file's coming up."

Tails breathed a bit before turning around. "We need to leave. Noam, keep us updated over the radio."

"If anything else pops up, I'll let you know," said Noam. "Might want to be quick, though. It's coming in fast. Crazy to think that we had nothing for so long..."

"Yeah... really crazy," Banner agreed.

"Let's get going," Honey said. "Banner, you're coming with."

"Oh, I get the best assignments."

The three made it to Tails' car, and he started it up, beginning the drive to Marshall's college.

* * *

 **Back with Marshall and Nora in the present...**

"So... how did you block off The Director?" asked Marshall.

"After we all betrayed him, he didn't really need us any more, so the chips in our heads became unnecessary," Nora said.

"That only answers half of my question," said Marshall. "I mean, how is he not talking to me while I'm here?"

"It's an odd secret, but there's an electrical lining in the walls," said Nora. "It usually just slightly muffles the signal, but I had to tweak it myself so that it completely blocked things."

"Wow. That's honestly quite impressive." Marshall said. "I don't know if Hyder told you, but I'm doing electrical engineering in college."

"He did mention it," said Nora, smiling. "He honestly has a lot to thank you for, you know. The fact that you helped him get the therapy that he needed."

"I'm just glad that he got it," said Marshall. "I'm less glad that... well, he found out who I am. He knows what I've done."

"Well, nobody outside of here will know what you've done. This is a room of secrets."

"You've said as much..." Marshall nodded. "So... would you care to tell the story of you and The Director?"

Nora nodded. "Between the four of us who were with him, I was just doing what I did out of desperation. I needed the money. I was surprisingly good at my job, but I was also married at the time to Hyder's father. He didn't know about my job as a prostitute, and eventually, I was pregnant with Hyder."

Marshall nodded. "Must have been difficult at the time..."

"It was," said Nora. "I always made sure that my clients wore protection, so I knew that it was my husband's. Because I needed money, and because he had lost his job, I was found by The Director. He let me keep my job, but I was also asked to kill people, just like the other three. I was the only Mobian in the group, so people would be less suspicious that way."

"Must have been part of the reason why I'm the new X Killer, I guess..." Marshall shook his head.

Nora smiled softly. "Perhaps." She cleared her throat. "Regardless, I did do my job for The Director very well. But I didn't kill as much as the others. When I did, I made it quick. I didn't give in to my own urges as much as the others did... and with the baby being further on the way, I got more desperate. The Director was nice enough to let me have time off, and I took that time to raise Hyder as best as me and my husband could. That was until I found my husband dead one day... he owed some money to some bookies, but he didn't pay up. So, they killed him. But they let me live. They were agents of Hyder, and he'd been watching over me the whole time."

"Oh my god..." Marshall said, burying his head in his hands. "All this time at school... it wasn't what I thought it was..."

"I'm sorry that you had to find out this way..." said Nora. "This is what The Director does. This is how good he as at twisting the knife in people after he's already taken away everything from them."

"So... what happened next?" asked Marshall.

"The Director wanted me back to work with him. With my husband's death, me not having a job, and high school coming up... I had no choice. I had to go back to my old job for The Director. There was nothing else that I could have done." Nora shook her head. "So, I went back to work for him. But, carefully, I started taking his money so that I could try and put Hyder through college if he needed it. I was so close to being careful, but I was found out by one of the other guards. That's when me and the others all got kicked out and marked by The Director."

"So... that was it this whole time?" asked Marshall. "You were trying to help Hyder..."

"I was," nodded Nora. "I put some of the money to block off being found by The Director, and other parts of it into Hyder's therapy sessions, but I kept more than enough to see him through. Eventually, he started working harder on his own, and he got to college by himself. I... I still have most of the money. Hyder doesn't know where it came from. And he can't ever know."

"I won't tell him..." Marshall said. "As a matter of fact... after today, I may never have to see Hyder again, if I'm lucky."

"I understand," Nora nodded. "So... that's my story. What's yours?"

Marshall cleared his throat. "I'm sure that your son didn't tell you about the time that I told him. I was attacked one night after following a police case that had nothing to do with me. I was just trying to help my dad. Anyway, wrong place, wrong time, and I wake up in a weird room where I'm given an ultimatum by The Director to either kill who he's marked, or he'd kill my family. Much like you, I didn't have much in the way of a choice. I had to accept. And I've killed. Way too much for one lifetime. I really hope that you are the last person I'll ever need to kill, Nora."

Nora smiled softly. "That is quite the story... and I do feel bad for you. I'm sorry that you're having to go through all of this."

"You're not the only one..."

* * *

 **Back with Tails...**

Tails, Honey, and Banner had arrived to the college late at night. After showing their badges to the staff there, they explained why they were there. Instead of arguing, the staff simply let the three police officers go up to Marshall's room, guiding them over there.

"Just grab whatever you need, okay?" the staff member said.

Tails nodded. "Thank you." He watched as the staff left, and turned to the door, knocking lightly.

Eventually, the door was opened up to show Cosmo on the other side, rubbing her eyes. "Oh, hi, Mr. Tails..." She then yawned. "Is... everything okay?"

"We don't really know," Tails admitted. "We're worried that Marshall might be in trouble. Could we have a look inside the room?"

"Uh... I guess so..." Cosmo yawned again.

"Thank you. Uh, would you wait out here, please? We won't be long... we hope..."

"Take as much time as you need..." Cosmo said, still rubbing her eyes. "Wait... how much trouble is Marshall in?"

"We don't know yet, but hopefully, it isn't too serious..." said Honey.

"You... you promise that you'll look after him?" Cosmo asked.

"We promise," said Tails. "No matter what happens."

The plant girl simply nodded, and Tails and Honey looked around inside of the room while Banner waited outside. Tails and Honey searched around for a long time, upturning what they could and looking before putting it all back until, eventually, Honey noticed a small crack behind the wall.

"Wait... I think I see something here..."

She reached to move the cabinet, and Tails helped her to shift it. They found more to the crack in the wall, and both reached to pull it down, seeing some small weapons hidden behind it. It was just a gun and a knife, but it was all that they needed.

"This isn't good..." said Tails. "It really isn't..."

Honey nodded. "You're telling me..." She turned to see a laptop closed near the bed. "There might be something here, maybe?"

Tails shrugged. "It's worth checking out."

The yellow cat nodded, picking up the laptop and opening it up. "It's closed off by password... you wouldn't happen to know it, would you?"

"I just might..." Tails took the laptop from Honey and started to type in the password, smiling. "It never changes."

But his smile was wiped from his face as he saw a document opened up on the laptop. Honey sat next to him to see what it was too, and the two of them looked at each with a confused expression before continuing to read it. They soon finished, shaking their heads.

"That can't be right... right?" asked Honey. "He can't really be..."

"I didn't know... about these before..." Tails said. "But I know that Marshall is genuine. He always speaks from the heart. This... this is real. This is genuine. This... this is the truth..."

Before he knew it, he suddenly broke down into tears, sniffling and burying his head in his hands. Honey closed the laptop down before putting an arm across Tails' shoulders, hugging the yellow fox close and trying to calm him down. She let out some of her own tears too.

"I-It's... it's h-h-him..." Tails said. "He's the X Killer... he always was..."

"The mantle... it all makes sense now..." said Honey, shaking her head. "He's going to be the last one... he has to be at the next victim's house as we speak..."

Tails nodded, getting up from the bed to head outside. He told Cream about what had happened, not hiding a shred of the truth from her, and she began crying too, breaking down in Tails' arms. He comforted her with a long hug as Banner shook his head in disbelief, sitting against the wall with a long, deep sigh.

Eventually, Cosmo was a bit calmer, but not fully. "T-Tails... before you go and get Marshall..."

Tails turned to see her, noticing her pause. "Yes?"

"Tell him... that... I love him... so much... and that, no matter what happens after all of this... I don't want him to think that I hate him..." Cosmo let out more tears, wiping her eyes. "He did what he did to protect us... right?"

Tails rubbed his eyes. "I... I don't know if that's the case... but I'll tell him that if I see him. I promise."

"Thank you..." Cosmo nodded. "I'm... I'm going to try and go back to bed..."

Tails nodded, hugging the girl in green one last time before leaving with Honey and Banner. The three of them got back to their police car, with the two-tailed fox starting it up, but not moving it just yet. He leaned forward and pressed his head against the steering wheel.

Banner put a hand on Tails' shoulder. "It'll be okay. Then the time comes, we'll do what's necessary."

"Just like he did, right?" asked Tails, a bit coldly, still not moving his head from the wheel. "What am I going to do?"

"Whatever is right." Honey nodded. "We're the police. We do whatever's right. Not whatever we think is right."

Tails sighed and nodded, and soon, they started driving off.

* * *

 **Back with Marshall and Nora...**

"So... how would you like to do this?" asked Nora.

"What do you mean?" asked Marshall.

"Well, I've read up on the previous X Killer's methods. What do you do?"

Marshall shrugged. "Usually, The Director has me do something that's poetic in a twisted way. For Marks, Isaiah got a pair of dogs to kill him. For Rivera, it was making her overdose on a bunch of drugs. For Ellis, it was castration, and burning out his eyes too."

"Well... very violent methods indeed," Nora said.

Before Marshall could reply, he heard the door open downstairs, and heard a voice soon after that. "I'm back home, mum!" said Hyder's voice.

"Oh, shit..." Marshall said. "I need to hide. Remember, he knows that I'm the killer."

"Quick, the closet," said Nora. "Go and hide."

Marshall quickly made a move to the closet, going inside it and hiding. He glanced through the thin crack that was in the doors as he saw Nora put on a dressing gown before going downstairs to visit her son, sighing as he stayed where he was.

With Nora and Hyder, she hugged him as she reached him. "There's my handsome man!"

"Hey, ma," Hyder said, blushing a bit. "Sorry that I'm late. I stopped to get some milk on the way back." He showed a carton full of it.

"That's good. We did need some," smiled Nora. "How's college been?"

"It's been all right. I haven't found a proper course just yet, but I'm hoping that that all changes soon."

"Do you have any ideas for it?" Nora asked.

"I was thinking something in sports, maybe," Hyder said. "I was good at them before, so I may as well stick to what I'm good at. I might take up basketball."

Nora smiled. "I have faith that you'll do well with it."

"Thanks," Hyder smiled. "So... what are you going to do now?"

"Oh, I'm going to go shower and then get some sleep."

Hyder nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Nora smiled again, "Oh, and I cooked you dinner too!"

Hyder sniffed. "Ooh... lasagne. Thanks, mum. Goodnight."

Nora hugged Hyder. "Goodnight." She tightened her hug. "I'm so proud of you!"

The younger hyena blushed a bit, returning the hug. His mother gave him one last kiss on the cheek before going back upstairs, making sure to close the door behind her. She went over to her shower and turned the water on before heading back out to her bedroom, opening the closet that Marshall was hiding in.

"Okay, we have to make this quick," said Nora. "Kill me in the shower. It'll make it go by a lot-"

"Hey, mum!" Hyder called. "The police are here! They need to talk to you!"

"Oh, shit..." Marshall muttered, heading back into the closet. "Give me a break today, please..."

Nora sighed and went down the stairs to see Tails, Honey, and Banner at the front door. "Hello, officers. To what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked as Hyder headed back to the kitchen.

Tails sighed. "We have reason to suspect that the X Killer may be around these parts. Do you know anything about this?"

"N-No," Nora said. "I haven't seen any news about it, at least."

"Regardless, do you mind if we take a look around?" Tails asked. "It's just to be safe."

"Oh, uh... sure," said Nora. "Go for it."

Hyder kept eating in the kitchen, but he overheard the conversation. As the cops headed upstairs, he got up and went over to his mother. "Is everything okay?" he asked.

"I-I'm fine..." said Nora. "I think..."

"Is... is he here?" asked Hyder. "Is the killer here?"

Nora shook her head. "I don't know where he is..." She shuddered. "I'll be okay... and besides, why does it concern you so much?"

"N-No reason..." said Hyder. "I'm going to just go get something from my room really quickly."

"But the police are still up there..." said Nora.

"I know. I won't take long. I promise."

Nora couldn't stop her son, and he was soon on the rush going upstairs. He headed for his bedroom, like he said he would, and he saw Banner in there. He nodded silently to him, and Banner turned and saw the young hyena, simply clearing his throat.

"Sorry about all this," Banner said. "We're just trying to be thorough here."

"Oh, no, I understand. No need to apologise," Hyder said. "Is it okay if I grab something really quickly?"

"Of course," said Banner. "Take all the time that you need. I'm done searching here anyway."

Hyder nodded. "Thank you."

He watched as Banner left, and after making sure that he'd gone, he quickly checked outside of his bedroom window. In the slight distance, tucked in an alleyway, was a car. At the driver's seat was Isaiah, who he recognised instantly. Isaiah spotted him back, shaking his head.

"Marshall, answer me, for fuck's sake!" he groaned.

The Director sounded exasperated. "He is in there, right?"

"I haven't seen him come out, so he must be," said Isaiah. "What the hell is he still doing in there?"

"Whatever it is, he needs to get it done fast," said The Director. "He is very close to being compromised."

Still in Nora's closet was Marshall, and he overheard footsteps and some voices coming close. As best as he could, he tried tucking himself into the corner of the closet so that he wouldn't be seen, and in walked Honey the cat, talking to herself as she looked around.

"I really hope that I don't find what I'm looking for..." she said to herself. "There's no way that the Marshall that I know could be the one responsible... right?"

The tall fox gulped more as Honey walked around, still looking. She peeked under the bed, and then in another cupboard that Nora had which Marshall spotted earlier, before Marshall shuffled slightly. The scuffled noise that he made attracted Honey's attention, but before she could move over, she heard a voice from downstairs.

"Is there somebody in my bedroom right now?" Nora's voice called.

"What is it?" asked Honey, sighing.

"I left the shower on! Could you turn it off for me?"

Honey shook her head. "Sure!" She sighed again. "It's not like we're trying to conduct an investigation and trying to find the person who might kill you or anything..."

The yellow cat kept grumbling to herself as she moved over to where the shower was, looking around inside it for any hints. As she did, Marshall made a subtle, quick move to the bed. He closed the closet doors as he left, and he managed to fit underneath the bed, which did cramp him slightly.

He held his breath as he heard the shower turning off, and then the bathroom door opening. Honey walked back out, and immediately went back to checking the cupboard. She knelt down curiously and picked up a shirt that was on the floor.

"That must have been the cause of the noise..."

She put it back, and Marshall kept his breath held as Honey moved out of the bedroom. She headed down the stairs, going over to where Nora and Hyder were sat down still, and she was soon joined by Tails and Banner as well.

"We couldn't find anything," said Tails. "But... you don't mind if we stay near the premises, do you? Just in case he does show up."

"N-Not at all," said Nora. "You do what you need to."

"Thank you," said Tails. "We'll just be outside. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask us, okay?"

"I understand. Thank you."

The yellow fox nodded again, and he left the house with Honey and Banner in two. Hyder watched them as they got back into their car, waiting where they were as Tails noticed that Hyder was looking at them before the hyena shut the front door, causing Tails to sigh.

"What do we do now?" asked Honey.

Banner scratched his head. "We wait. That's all that we can do."

Back inside of the house, Hyder turned to face his mother. "Mum, we have to get out of here. I don't have any time to explain."

"But why? The police are here to protect us, and-"

"And there's a dangerous person around this area. He's not going to discriminate against who he kills when he comes here, even if you aren't his victim."

"What are you talking about?" Nora asked. "The X Killer?"

"Yeah. I don't know why he'd be here... unless... he's here for me..."

"Wait, how do you know?" Nora asked.

"I saw a van in an alleyway. I recognised it as belonging to someone who works with the X Killer." Hyder paused. "I... I found out his identity. I think he might be here to kill me... to tie up a loose end."

"Oh, no... we have to escape!" Nora said. "Quick! You gather what you need! I have some things in my room I need to get!"

Hyder nodded, hugging his mother before going upstairs. Not long after, Nora followed him, quickly heading into her room and making sure that the door was mostly closed. She checked the closet to see if Marshall was still in there, but didn't see him.

"Where are you?" she whispered.

Marshall slid from under the bed, panting. "Right here. So... what's happening?"

"You need to kill me. Right now."

"Right now, right now?"

"Hyder will be in here any second. The police are outside, as is Isaiah. You need to do it. Now." She opened her bathroom up and turned the shower on. "In here. Quickly."

Marshall followed her in. "Original plan?"

"Yes. Just... hurry. Please. We don't have any time to waste."

Marshall nodded, taking out his knife and putting it against her neck. "For what it's worth... I'm so sorry..."

"Mum!" Hyder called outside of Nora's bedroom. "Turn the shower off! We've got to go!"

Marshall turned back to the mother hyena. "I guess this is goodbye..."

Nora nodded weakly. "Goodbye..."

The brown fox made a quick slice across Nora's neck, watching the blood flow from her neck and down her dress. He held her gently as he lowered her into the bath, letting the shower water run over her to wash away some of the blood. Marshall didn't have time to clean his own knife when there was a knock on the door.

"We need to hurry!" Hyder called. "We don't have time!" He opened the door wide, seeing Marshall stood over his mother, seeing the bloody knife in his hand. "No..." Hyder began to sob. "No... not... not her..."

"Hyder, I-"

"You shut the fuck up..." Hyder snarled, not looking at the fox. He held his mother's body close, crying against her as the shower water kept falling. "Why... why her?"

"You... you wouldn't believe me if I told you..." said Marshall. "But... if it helps... she's the last one..."

"No... she's not..." said Hyder, slowly standing up. "There'll be one more dead body tonight..."

"Hyder, don't even think about it."

The hyena stood, pushing Marshall out of the bathroom. "What? You don't have the balls any more because you killed my mother? You really think that I'm going to just fucking believe that she's the last one?"

Marshall sighed. "This is the end of it. I promise."

"You're damn right it is!"

Hyder suddenly jumped forward, tackling Marshall to the ground. He managed to knock the knife out of Marshall's palm when they landed, and he started landing several blows on him. Marshall blocked against some, managing to dodge others, and he soon kicked Hyder off of him, kneeling up.

"We don't need to do this!" said Marshall. "I'm running away! I don't know where I'll end up! But you don't have to see me again!"

"Maybe not, but I can't just forgive this..." Hyder said. "I have to end this... one way or another..." He moved forward, and he grabbed the knife that Marshall dropped earlier. He held it to his own neck, continuing to cry. "You want me dead?"

"No, I don't!" said Marshall. "I'm done! It's over!"

Hyder pushed the knife deeper, crying harder. "It really is... I... I can't take this any more..."

Marshall noticed some blood starting to pool at the tip of the knife, and he had to think quickly. He rolled forward, pushing Hyder onto his back and using the momentum to take the knife away, pointing a gun directly between Hyder's eyes.

"It's over now..." Marshall said. "Cover your eyes..."

"I want to face my killer..." said Hyder. "I want to see the man who's going to take my life... give me the same courtesy that you gave to all of your other victims, at least..."

"That's not what I'm talking about..."

Marshall then aimed straight up, firing at the light-bulb attached to the ceiling. The gun let out a loud bang, and Hyder covered his eyes so that glass didn't get into his eyes. In the darkness, Marshall managed to find his mask, using it to make his way back out of the room, leaving Hyder behind.

Outside, Tails and the others heard the gunshot.

"Fuck... he is here..." said Tails.

"He did it..." Isaiah said in his car.

"That may be so, but we still can't reach him," said The Director. "We need to find a way to get him out of there."

Isaiah rushed to get out of his car, finding a way to sneak behind the buildings. He looked to make sure that he wasn't being followed, and when he saw that he was in the clear, he kept moving forward. He kept his eye on the cop car, seeing the police officers inside start to move.

"The gunshot came from upstairs!" said Tails. "Get up there!"

Marshall heard them start to come in as he travelled down the stairs, hopping over the banister to get to the ground floor. He turn to head to the back door through the kitchen, but the adrenaline pumping was making him lose his focus. He stopped and panted for a bit, removing his mask and taking time to breathe.

"Marshall!" said The Director. "Come in! Are you there?"

Marshall panted more and more. "I'm here..."

"Thank goodness! I trust that the deed is done?"

"It is, but I need to get out of here! The police are close!"

"Isaiah's just outside the back! You need to move!"

Marshall stumbled forward, still trying to catch his breath when he heard Tails' voice behind him. "Freeze!"

Marshall stopped where he was, too tired to move forward even as he saw Isaiah through the crack in the door. He scratched his head, turning to face his adoptive father with his hands raised up, looking him right in the eyes as tears started to fill his own.

"So... you found out," Marshall said.

"I found your keepsake," said Tails, aiming his gun. He was soon flanked by Honey and Banner. "Why did you do all of this?"

"If you read the keepsake, then you should already know," said Marshall. "Nora was the last one. She's in the bathroom right now."

"What are you going to do after this?" asked Tails asked. "You can't go back to a normal life."

"I know that!" said Marshall. "Do you know how many times that I've heard that sentence over all of this time? How many times that I've told myself that?"

"You never thought to listen to your own advice?"

"I tried. I fucking tried. I tried going back to church, to therapy, I tried helping people!"

"By killing them? Because some psychopath in your head told you that they were bad?"

"They were bad! I tell everyone this! They did horrible things to innocent people!"

"And, what, the police couldn't handle it?"

"The police didn't have a damned clue until I started leaving a trail!" Marshall shook his head.

"You think that you're helping us?" Tails asked. "You think that this is all going to work out in the end?"

"I know it's not going to," said Marshall. "But I'm done! I swear, I'm done! No more killing! No more torture! No more anything!"

"Marshall," said The Director. "Isaiah is about to sweep you from behind and put a gun up to your head. Don't panic."

"You're getting nothing but jail time!" said Tails. "We can get you checked in to see a therapist more regularly! We can help you!"

"Great advice..." Marshall scoffed. He then felt an arm around his throat, and a gun to his head.

Tails and the others focused on Isaiah, and the yellow fox spoke up. "You... you've been helping to hide the bodies, haven't you."

"Quite the astute observation," said Isaiah. "And if you don't back away, I'll have another body to hide by the end of the night."

Tails aimed higher. "If you dare-"

"Oh, did I hit a nerve?" Isaiah chuckled, slowly backing away more. "Considering the things that The Director and I have put Marshall here through, you think that we wouldn't kill him by the end?"

"You get your fucking hands off of him!" Tails screamed. "Don't kill him! Don't take him away from me!"

"Dad..." Marshall said, sighing and starting to weep. "I've been gone for a while... you're only just now seeing it for yourself... I'm... sorry..."

Tails sobbed more, and he soon sagged to the ground. He sighed and dropped his gun, but still looked up at Marshall and Isaiah. "Please... don't leave us... don't leave me and Cream..."

"I... I have to..." said Marshall. "Goodbye... dad..."

Isaiah walked back out of the door, keeping the gun aimed at Marshall's head before they both left out the back door, making their way to the car. Tails, still on his knees, cried out loud and punched the floor in anger. Honey and Banner put hands on his shoulders and held him close, trying to comfort him.

Outside, Marshall was rushed to the car with Isaiah, and they both hopped in. "Where are we going?" asked Marshall, getting into the back seat..

"As far away from here as we can possibly get," said The Director. "We'll tell you the rest when we get to where we're going."

"What should I do?"

"For now, you get your own sleep. We'll wake you up when we're ready. This drive might take a while."

Marshall nodded, yawning and resting across the back seat.

Back with Tails and the others, Hyder came down to join them. "What happened?" he asked.

"They're gone," said Honey.

"You let them go?" Hyder asked. "You let him go?!" He picked Tails up by his collar. "Why would you do that? He killed my mother!"

"Hyder..." Honey said. "Marshall... is... he's too far gone. Nothing can help him now. You have to realise that, right?"

Hyder scoffed. "He killed people..."

"And now he's done..." Tails said.

"And you believe him?" The hyena shook his head.

"He ran away!" Tails said, pushing Hyder back. "My son, one of the most important things in my life, is gone!"

"But at least he's still alive!" said Hyder. "And he's going to hurt more people! And besides, what am I supposed to do now, huh? I have no family left, few friends, I won't be able to keep the balance between college and home... I..." He slowed down and began crying again. "I have nothing left now..."

"We'll help you out," said Honey. "But, for now, we... have other things to attend to..."

"Let's drive him back to college," said Banner. "We'll try and sort something out there."

So, the police helped Hyder over to their car, not wasting any more tie in going back to the college. After they got Hyder back to his dorm, they decided on sorting out a plan for him in a few days' time, as they needed their own time to recover. They went back to their station later after that.

"This might be one of the worst days we've ever had," said Banner.

Tails didn't reply, sitting at his desk and sighing, burying his face into his hands as he let more tears out. Honey walked over to him, unable to hold back some of her own tears as she sat next to him. Noam came up soon after that, but was confused to see the crying.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Marshall... was the killer..." said Banner. "The whole time, it was him..."

"Seriously?" Noam asked, receiving nods from everyone except for Tails. "Where is he now? Did you bring him in?"

"I let him go..." Tails said. "His victim tonight, a Mobian hyena named Nora, was his last. And... I believe him."

Noam rubbed his nose. "I'm... I'm sorry. That's rough."

Tails sniffled. "You think?"

Noam sighed. "Look, uh... I think that you should take the night off. Go home. Get some rest. The X Killer case is over. I'll talk it over with the captain."

The yellow fox nodded. "Thank you, Noam. I appreciate that." He then stood up. "I'll... see you guys tomorrow."

"You take care," said Honey, hugging him. "Whatever happens now... we're going to be okay..."

Tails sniffed. "I hope so." He cleared his throat as the hug broke. "I'll... see you guys tomorrow..."

Without stopping to say anything else, he turned and left. He made it back to his car and drove home, unlocking the front door as soon as he got there and walking in. He saw that Cream had fallen asleep watching TV, but she immediately stopped when she saw him walk in through the door.

"Hey, you're back," Cream said. "What, did the department give you the night off?"

"In a manner of speaking..." Tails said, sitting with her. "There's no more X Killer case. We closed it. It's... it's all over."

"Well, that's great!" said Cream, noticing more tears starting to form in her love's eyes. "Isn't it?"

"We... we need to talk..."

Cream nodded, and in a matter of moment, Tails relayed the story to her. Cream broke down not long after that, burying her head in Tails' chest, her tears staining his shirt as she sniffled and sobbed and wept. Tails held her as closely as he could, and for the last time that night, he cried once again.

* * *

 **The next morning, in an unknown location...**

Marshall was still asleep in the back of Isaiah's car when he felt the sunlight hit his eyes. He groggily got up, creaking his neck. "Uh... where are we?"

Isaiah sighed. "Just coming out of the desert. There's a city about a mile and a half north of here."

"So, why are we in the desert?"

"Because we can't have you going into the new town dressed like that, now, can we?" said The Director as Isaiah pulled over. "Just get out of the car. I'll explain."

Marshall did so, and Isaiah went to the back of the car and got a bag, handing it over to the brown fox. "Here."

"What is it?" asked Marshall.

"A promise that I'm keeping," said The Director. "New clothes, new identity, money to get whatever you need..."

Marshall looked inside. "Wow. That's... a lot of money..."

"Well, my best performers deserve the best pay," The Director said.

Isaiah then reached into the back to grab a shovel, handing it to Marshall. "Get out of those clothes, get changed, bury the old stuff."

Marshall shook his head, but complied. He made sure that nobody was looking as he got changed, ditching the X Killer outfit for some normal clothes. When he was done, he held the outfit in one hand, the shovel in the other, and walked out to the desert, digging a hole. He only needed one big enough to put the clothes in, which didn't take too long. When he was done, he dumped the sand back over it, making sure that it was buried well enough.

"We'll be keeping the weapons," said The Director. "Less chance of someone getting suspicious that way."

Marshall nodded. "That sounds fair." He gave the shovel back to Isaiah. "So, what do I do now?"

"You hitchhike and find your way into town," said The Director. "You find an office to get your ID checked. You might need a new name, though."

"A new name, a new life... do I get to keep anything that isn't you still being in my head?"

"Actually," The Director said, "I'm keeping my promise to the letter. I will shut off my connection to you, permanently. Your family and friends will all be safe, all of my people around the city will be pulled out... and there will never be another X Killer."

Marshall scoffed. "I wish that I could say that I'm going to miss you two. But I really won't."

Isaiah. "The feeling is mutual."

The Director chuckled. "Regardless... I will stick to my promise. Put the money to good use."

"I'll do my best..." Marshall said.

The Director sighed. "Well... this is goodbye then. And good luck."

"I'll need it."

The Director then cut off his connection to Marshall, and Isaiah didn't speak a word to him, instead silently packing what he needed back into his car and driving away. Marshall didn't wave him off, instead going further up the main road to where cars were passing by, trying to hitch a ride. He eventually got one, and was driven to the nearest city. He thanked the person who drove him there, and soon found an employment office.

"And what sort of job are you looking for?" asked the woman behind the glass door.

"I'm actually looking for any colleges that I can apply for,2 Marshall said. "I have experience in electrical engineering, and I know my Mobian power too."

"All right, what's your name?"

Marshall took a few seconds to think, soon smiling. "My name is Diez."

* * *

 **And that's it! This story is over! Done! Finished! It took about a year and a half longer than I'd hoped, but it's over! What a journey this was. I enjoyed it. I honestly had such fun with writing such a different style of story than what I usually do. I hope that you all liked it, because I did a lot, even if it took me a while to get it done. Next, I'll be hopefully finishing Love And War, then possibly More Toys after that, then so much other stuff... but that's for then. Until then, take care of yourselves.**


End file.
